


I Believe

by sisterawesomeness



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 01:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 45,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4768040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sisterawesomeness/pseuds/sisterawesomeness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackie Frost always held a special place in her heart for the 'magic' of childhood she was forced to give up on. One day she finds herself randomly transported into her favorite movie and befriends none other than Jack Frost. What plan does the Man in the Moon have for her? And how will she help the Guardians in their fight against none other than the Boogeyman?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Meet Jackie Frost

**Author's Note:**

> I'm transferring all of my works from my fanfic page to this account as well. I own nothing but my OC Jackie!

"Jack Frost nipping at your nose," I lightly sang walking down the sidewalk. The wind picked up and I zipped my jacket up until it reached my neck. Winter was turning out to be brutal with all of the wind lately. The past few days the temperature had fluxuated between people being able to wear shorts to days where it felt like it was the tundra. Today was one of those days. Unfortunately, even with all the wind there still wasn't any snow. The weather had only produced rain which collected in puddles on the uneven parts of the sidewalk. Mud was everywhere you went. I'd rather have some of the nice fluffy stuff. Unlike most people I enjoyed winter in all its glory.

Cold temperatures never seemed to really bother me. I would be perfectly fine without my coat but I would've been yelled at by Mema for not wearing one. Snow made everything look pretty and peaceful. People around here always complained about how they had to shovel snow and how it messed up the roads. Those same people were now the ones bitching about all this rain. _Will they make up their minds already?_

"Where's Jack Frost when you need him?" I thought. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I thought back to the movie I'd went and seen recently with Mema, _Rise of the Guardians._ Just thinking about it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and I'm sure a tiny smile was on my normally neutral face. That movie had rocked and I couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD. I would've asked for it for Christmas but since it was still in theaters I didn't see it happening. Then again, I could ask for it on my birthday which wasn't too far away.

I took a left and headed down the road for the tracks. It wasn't the fastest route home but I did like the scenery. Even with the trees bare the countryside was a pleasant contrast to my busy school and town. Besides, with no leaves to block the view I could see for miles.

As I kept walking I thought back to the overall plot. I felt horrible for Jack when he wasn't believed in, as well as the other guardians. My favorite being Bunny. It made me remember my own childhood and the happy memories I had of waiting up trying to hear Santa or catch the toothfairy. Seeing as I was currently eighteen, soon to be nineteen, my days of believing were over.

My smile disappeared as I felt my heart sink a bit. Although I had believed in Santa and the Easter Bunny long after my peers had written them off the magic was over. What upset me the most was all of my classmates, at the time, weren't sad in the slightest when they learned the truth. I was heartbroken when I was told. The only conciliation I got was from Mema. She had been horrified when my mom told me they didn't exist. Mema said I was too young for the magic to be gone.

Guess that's why I'm so much closer to her than anyone else. She enjoyed the wonder and splendor as much as I had. Even though she's older she never did lose her 'young at heart' attitude. That's why she went and saw the movie with me. My so called 'friends' wouldn't be caught dead seeing a 'kid movie' as they put it. And even if they had the time my folks never seemed into what I liked. I remember when I was younger they didn't really sit down and watch my movies with me. But Mema never missed one.

At that moment a gust of wind caught my hood and blew it up over my head. I would've left it there but sometimes it's hard to see past it. The wind didn't bother me too much but I picked up the pace because I knew it would be getting dark soon. I nearly giggled thinking about the Man in the Moon and how, ironically, it was supposed to be a fullmoon tonight. A small frightened voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Emily!"

~*~

Strangely, I felt weightless and there was some sort of light trying to come through my eyelids. With some effort I slowly opened them and noticed I was gazing up into the night sky. The moon illuminated the entire sky and stars twinkled all around it. It seemed a little off because I never remembered the moon being that close or nearly bright before. Something cold touched my check and I was startled to realize it was snowing. _Why am I lying down? What happened?_

I sat up and was surprised to find I had been lying in a mound full of snow. _How did it snow so much? Wasn't it getting dark a second ago?_ At the realization it was already dark made I began to panic. Mema was going to be so worried. As I sprung up I found I no longer felt the weight of my backpack. _Oh crap._ Frantically I looked around. My whole life, including my wallet, was in that thing. My fear ebbed when I spotted it a few feet away. When I picked it up I noticed it was considerably lighter but when I checked everything was in it. Nothing was missing. Oh well. I didn't have time to worry about this, I had to get home.

However, when I peered in the moonlight for the tracks they were nowhere to be found. _Could this night get any weirder?_ With a heavy sigh I decided to try and make a circular pattern figuring the tracks couldn't be too far away. This continued for twenty minutes and I was becoming beyond freaked. First, I woke up after what must've been hours for it to be this dark out. How the hell did that happen? Last thing I remember I was walking in daylight. Second, where was I exactly? I'd been right next to the railroad tracks not ten minutes from my own house. Third, was the least worrying and more an observation. How long had it been snowing? A decent amount blanketed everything and it was continuing to flutter down. It kind of confirmed my suspicion I had been out of it for a couple hours. Guess I should be more upset by how cold it had gotten out. But it wasn't as freezing as one would think it to be. Maybe my coat was better than I gave it credit. If anything all of the falling snow was helping to calm my nerves.

It was amazingly peaceful listening to the crunching sound as I trudged on. The moonlight glinted off the freshly falling flakes and made them nearly sparkle in the darkness. If this entire situation wasn't something out of the _Twilight Zone _I probably would've been able to properly appreciate the moment. The moonlight actually seemed to light the way and I noticed a clearing. "Nothing else is working right now," I admitted following the illuminated path. The clearing turned out to be a frozen pond. _What the?_ There are no ponds in my town or around it. We have a couple streams but that's it. I'm not sure how but I'm not in Kansas anymore.__

__Movement caught my eye and I saw a figure at the opposite side of the pond. Whoever it was had their back to me. All I could tell from this distance was they were wearing blue and pants which did not look appropriate enough for this type of weather. Were they holding a stick? My feeling of relief over having found another person completely overrode the fact it was odd someone was out in the middle of what appeared to be a forest playing around with a giant stick. Seeing as I was meandering about at whatever time this is I was in no position to judge._ _

__"Hello!" I called out. The figure turned around and I nearly whizzed in my own pants. Pale, white skin and hair, no shoes, a blue hoody, a tall wooden staff, and the brightest and bluest eyes I had ever seen. Either I was looking at the greatest cosplayer in the history of the world… Or I was staring at the one and only Jack Frost._ _

__~*~_ _

__He hadn't been planning on someone being at the pond besides himself. During the day only a handful of seniors or kids ever hung about. But no one ever stuck around past sunset. So it was surprising when he heard a voice call out at this time of night. He turned to see a lone figure across the pond. Even from where he stood he could clearly see the outline was female. She was about five three with ling brown hair that fell out from under her hood. Her clothes consisted of ripped jeans, black converse, and a green camouflage jacket with fake grey fur trimming the edges. Her clothes conveyed she may have been a little pudgy but it seemed to make her appear 'cute', not a term he used often, instead of unattractive like most people these days seemed to think they were if they weren't as skinny as sticks. She also wore a matching shoulder bag. It was a little odd her eyes almost appeared to glow a mice aquamarine contrasting her chibi, as he had heard described before, face and the white snow fluttering past her. It almost appeared as though she had one of those faces where you could only guess her age. For all he knew she could have been fifteen or twenty years old._ _

__If he didn't know better he could have sworn she was looking right at him. But he wasn't going to get his hopes up so soon. She could easily been peering through him, it wouldn't have been the first time something like that had happened. Plus, someone her age wouldn't believe in the main players, let alone him. But something about her eyes had him almost on edge. They seemed to be boring right into him._ _

__~*~_ _

__What is going on? That is definitely Jack Frost. Or maybe I'm insane. I don't know. Did I hit my head and now I'm hallucinating a fictional character from a movie I've seen recently? But then what explains the pond and everything else?_ _

__He was staring back at me and I felt a little flustered. _What do you say in this type of situation? 'Hi are you a figment of my imagination or are you real?'_ That would be so rude. Rather awkwardly I raised my hand and waved at him. I put on the friendliest smile I could create and said, "Hi there."_ _

__~*~_ _

__Did she just say hi to him? He glanced behind him to check if someone was there but there was no one in sight. Could this mean?_ _

__~*~_ _

__He looked behind himself and I realized he must've thought I couldn't see him and was talking to someone else. Wait… That's right. No one had been able to see him in over three hundred years in the movie. Either this hallucination was extremely detailed or it was actually happening. Whatever the case I had to let him know I could see him. "You with the staff!" I called. "Hello!"_ _

__Like a bullet he shot across the frozen pond and stopped a couple feet in front of me. It startled me a bit but I kept my smile on as I greeted him._ _

__"Are you talking to me?" he incredulously asked. Poor kid._ _

__"Why not?" I replied._ _

__"Are you saying you can actually see me?"_ _

__"No duh. Did you think I was talking to myself?" I tried to joke._ _

__"B-but no one has… And you…" He stammered floating right in front of me. I figured he must be happy he met someone who can finally interact with him. More importantly, believed in him._ _

__"I can't believe how lucky I am," I beamed. "You're Jack Frost!" I was ecstatic being able to meet one of my favorite characters in real life._ _

__"You said my name," he stated. A smile formed on his own face and he got exceedingly close, invading my personal bubble. Considering he had been alone for so long I gave him a break and fought the urge to punch him in the face. "You believe in me," he nearly whispered after a few seconds._ _

__"I sure do, and it's a pleasure meeting you, Jack Frost," I purposefully said his name again as I held out my hand._ _

__"It's a pleasure meeting you," he slowly took my hand and gripped it. It was like he was afraid after everything he would still phase through me or I'd vanish and leave him alone again. We shook hands and I noticed how cold his skin temperature was. "Sorry but who are you exactly?" He hadn't let go of my hand yet but seeing as I was the only human contact he'd had in so long I let him be and ignored my hand tingling as it started going numb._ _

__"Jackie," I answered. "Jackie Frost."_ _


	2. Questions and No Answers

"Jackie Frost?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said ignoring the look of disbelief he gave me. I'd seen that look most of my life or people would find it 'funny'.

"Are we…" he started before I cut him off.

"I don't think we're related." He didn't have any memory of who he had been before he became Jack Frost. Now here I randomly came along with almost the identical name?

"How do you know?" there was a hint of hope in his voice. _Oh boy._

"Because people have had the same last names in common before and their not related," I tried to explain. I couldn't reveal too much or I'd be suspicious. If this was happening, and I was certain it was at this point, I didn't want to have to explain where I come from an entire movie is based around him.

"You're probably right but what about your family? You just move here because I haven't seen you around town before."

"Sorry, but where is _here_ exactly?" I inquired gazing around.

"You don't know? What did you decide to go for a walk in the woods and kept going?" I gave him a look and he lost the joking smirk. I did not find this very amusing. Although, I did feel bad about it because he wasn't responsible for the situation I was in. "My bad," he apologized. "I haven't had practice with this sort of thing." He gestured between us and I think he finally figured out he still held my hand in his. Which he promptly dropped.

"It's not your fault," I sighed. "One minute I'm on my way home and the next I wake up in a snow bank here. Wherever this is." I knew perfectly well what town I must have been in… But Jack didn't need to know that.

"Burgess," he answered. "You don't know how you got here?" he asked leaning on his staff.

"Nope," suddenly I got an idea on how to lighten the mood. "So are you going to show a lady around or am I supposed to keep meandering about?" I lightly said putting a gentle smile back on my face. I knew Mema was gonna murder me later but I'd have one hell of an excuse. Besides, I didn't like to see people down or putout, especially because of me.

"How rude of me," he said playing along. Probably glad I wasn't mad at him. He had a knowing smirk as he put out his arm for me like gentlemen used to do back in the day. I gladly took it. "Welcome to my humble town Miss Frost." He led me off toward town.

"I'm delighted to be here, but please call me Jackie. Miss Frost is far too impersonal," I kidded right back. How many people get to say they actually got to hang out with Jack Frost? We walked onto a street I recognized as being the one Behind Jamie's house. At least I assumed it was his house based on what I remembered of the movie. It must've been later than I thought because no one was around.

We continued on for a while as Jack gave me a tour of the small town. It reminded me of my own. Only a key few streets had shops on them and I noticed most seemed closed for the night. I kept my grip on Jack's arm, not caring if anyone saw me and thought I was weird. He seemed reluctant to let go of me. I doubt he's the clingy type but when was the last time he walked and talked with someone. That's right, three hundred years ago. The dude deserved a break.

"You seem to be taking all of this pretty well," he finally broke the silence. I just gave him a curious look. "I mean you randomly pop up in a strange town with no memory of how you got here. Then, you not only see me but are now waltzing down the sidewalk with me like it's the most natural thing in the world," he explained.

I thought about it a second before answering him. "It's better than freaking out or mopping around. What good would that do me or anyone else?" I shrugged. "I'll admit the entire 'me mysteriously showing up here' thing is kinda weirding me out. No sense in worrying about it this second." We swerved so I could avoid a patch of black ice. "On the plus side who else can truthfully say they were escorted about town by none other than the legendary Jack Frost?"

He turned his head away out of what, I was guessing, was embarrassment? Did I embarrass him? Aw… He's too cute. After a few moments he composed himself and smugly replied, "Aren't you the lucky lady this evening?" We both ended up laughing at that.

Suddenly I broke off when I saw a payphone. _Can't believe these still exist._ I would've used my cellphone but the battery was dead and I left the charger at home. He stood by me but far enough away as to not be considered impolite. I fumbled with my bag and managed to finally find enough change.

"Who are you calling?" he inquired.

"My grandma," I answered typing in the number. "She's probably flipping out right now." I waited a couple seconds before there was a beeping sound and a female voice said, "Sorry, the number you are trying to reach is no longer available. Please hang up and try your call again." _What? _I tried again but got the same annoying message.__

__"What's wrong?" he asked as I angrily slammed the phone back on the hook._ _

__"Don't know. Maybe the power is out at my house." I let out a tired sigh and attempted to figure out what I should so next. "Heah Jack?"_ _

__"Yeah?"_ _

__"Does this place have a bus station?" I saw his face deflate a bit but I had to think of Mema. Not to mention he's a winter spirit. It's not like he couldn't some visit me right?_ _

__"Leaving already?" I nodded. He froze a nearby stop sign but then said, "Can't have your family freaking out, huh?" he perked up. "Why don't I give you a ride?"_ _

__"W-what?" I stammered._ _

__"I'm faster than any bus," he stated. "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to fly?"_ _

__He did have a point. "As awesome as that sounds I'm sure people would have a fit if they saw a flying girl. And I wouldn't be able to stand the altitude we'd need to be stealthy."_ _

__"You've got me there. Alright then, but the place doesn't open until morning."_ _

__"Joy," I responded. "What time is it?" He pointed to his wrists and shrugged in a gesture meaning he didn't have a watch. Big help he was and there weren't any clocks around._ _

__An older guy walked down the sidewalk. "Excuse me, sir," I politely said. "Do you know what time it is?" He passed by without even glancing in my direction. "That was rude," I stated a little loud hoping he'd heared me._ _

__"Try him," Jack offered pointing to a guy closing up his shop._ _

__I left the phone and jogged over to him. "Sir, do you have the time?" He promptly disregarded me and went about messing with his keys. "Mister?" I said louder than need be. No response. "What's up with these people?" I spoke aloud. Jack didn't say anything and I was too peeved to realize how tense he had become. A couple was walking down right toward me holding hands. "Pardon me!" I all but shouted at them. They didn't stop or even slow down and I got ready to beat ass as I waited for the oblivious duo to run into me. Instead, they walked right through me._ _

___What?_ That can't be possible. In a panic I went over to the shopkeeper guy and got in between him and his parked car. Consequences be damned at this point. He passed right through me and unlocked his door. _How is this happening?__ _

__I kept running my hands through my hair while trying to figure everything out. A nervous habit I thought I'd kicked. Apparently not. I felt something cold touch my shoulder and looked to see Jack giving me a reassuring half-smile._ _

__"Hea hea, calm down," he gently said. "It's alright, we'll figure this out."_ _

__"B-but… This doesn't make any sense," I hated how chocked up my voice sounded. "One minute I'm on my way home and then I wake up here? What happened to me?" I didn't brush him off but I did start pacing back and forth. No need to keep up appearances since no one but Jack could see me anyway._ _

__"Think back," he stated in a calm voice. "Does anything stand out to you before you ended up here or right after you did?"_ _

__"Um." I racked my brain but nothing was coming up about my jaunt home. But… I stopped and stood there. If this was anything like the movie then… The moon! Desperately I looked up at it. "The moon," I finally managed. "When I first woke up I remember seeing the moon."_ _

__At that Jack perked up and turned to see it with me. It shone in all of its glory in the night sky remaining silent. He looked back to me and I tried to get my emotions under control before I ended up losing it in front of him._ _

__"The Man in the Moon brought you here?" he asked in shock._ _

__"The Man in the Moon? Maybe, I don't know. Why, did this happen to you too or something?" Even in my state I had to play semi-stupid on some topics. Though it meant bringing up the lack of his memories. Boy do I feel like such an ass._ _

__"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully. He went on to describe how the first thing he recalled was floating out of the ice and moonlight. I wasn't expecting it but he went on to tell me how he didn't remember anything before that._ _

__"That's…" I couldn't tell him. My heart felt like it was breaking as he told me his personal history. I had seen it in the movie but having him standing here in front of me was an entirely different story. Jack didn't let sadness or loneliness seep into his voice but I could see it in his blue eyes. I wanted nothing more than to give him a huge hug and blurt out what had happened to him and how it was going to be alright. But I couldn't because then he wouldn't join the guardians to get his teeth back when he needed them._ _

__So I stayed quiet and settled for taking hold of his hand and smiling at him. I also realized most boys aren't too keen on being hugged. "I have no clue what happened but it probably occurred for a reason. Maybe the Man in the Moon has a plan for us," for emphasis I glanced up at him and Jack followed my gaze. "But I am certain about one thing in this entire insane equation." I looked back at him and waited until his eyes met mine. "I am not sorry for meeting you Jack. My whole life I've always wanted to believe and for the longest time I did. Now I get to hang out with one of my heroes." He seemed surprised I called him a hero. "That is if you can stand having a girl around."_ _

__His smile took up his whole face. "So you're sticking around? Well I might have to spruce up a bit. Take out the trash, fix the sink." Jack got me smiling and took my hand again as we headed for, I guessed, the pond. As if catching himself he dropped my hand and put it in his hoody._ _

__"Don't worry, I'm not that picky. But," I dramatically paused and caught up to him. "You might have to show me what all there is to do here. What with it being such a small town and all." It took him a second to see where I was going with this. Just as realization hit I pushed him into a nearby snowbank. I caught him completely off guard and it showed. "You should see your face!" I laughed. He composed himself and determination set on his features._ _

__"You're messing with the master now," he threatened appearing to get ready to pounce. I let out a squeal; I'd be embarrassed later, and booked it down the sidewalk. He might have flight but I'd attempt to give him a run for it. Besides, I couldn't remember the last time I just goofed off with someone my own age. "Catch me if you can, Snowboy!" I taunted._ _


	3. Disturbance

_Fast Forward About 4 Months_

Far away, a fortress was nestled in a hidden corner of a massive ice canyon. Santa Claus's palace was massive crowded, busy, noisy, and the world's best kept secret. While most knew him by the name "Santa" here, at the North Pole, he was called "North".

On one side of North's Workshop was his private office. In one corner was his famous red jacket and matching cap casting long shadows across the floor. On the other side was the man himself, holding an impressive chainsaw and standing in front of a large block of ice. North raised the device, revealing a tattoo along his forearm which said, "Naughty." He dug into the block of ice with the chainsaw. Sharp bits of frozen water splattered throughout the office.

Three elves stood in the doorway, munching on cookies meant for him. "Still waiting for cookies!" North's deep Russian-accented voice boomed throughout the vast space, reminding his elves that he was hungry for his snack. His little helpers scooted out of the way as he flopped back into his rolling chair and then reached out toward a rack of work tools. North grabbed a tiny hammer and pushed up his sleeves. On his other arm there was another tattoo, this one read "Nice."

With delicate tools, he made a few final cuts into the ice block. When the sculpture was complete, he raised the frozen locomotive he'd created and placed it carefully on a frozen track. The train roared to life, belching chilly vapors before chugging on its way. North took a cookie and watched as his toy hit a loop and then launched into the air. Wings unfolded from the ice and a jet engine sizzled to action.

But then the door burst open with a heavy bang and crashed into the flying train. A huge, hairy, abominable snowman flung himself into the room, a worried expression across his fury brow. The ice train crashed to the ground and then slid across the floor in a million tiny pieces. North was looking at the shattered toy, shaking his head when the yeti began to shout.

"Arghbal…"

"How many time have I told you to knock?" North asked, spinning to face the huge beast.

"Warga blarghgha!" the yeti replied.

"What?" North said as he jumped up. "The Globe?" He drew his swords from their sheaths rushing from the room. He pushed through a crowd of panicking elves. The bells on their hats jingled as he passed by. Yeti workers moved to the side.

"Shoo, with your pointy heads!" North called out to the tiny creatures. "Why are you always underboot?"

With large, quick steps he made his way to the Globe of Belief. The Globe sat in the center of the fortress. It was massive and covered with blazing lights. Tiny bulbs blanketed every continent.

"What is this?" he asked the yeti who had reported the problem. Hundreds of lights were dark. Squinting at the Globe, North was shocked as more lights turned off. It was as if someone, or something, was shutting them down by the thousands.

"Have you checked the axis?" he asked the yeti. "Is the rotation balanced?"

The yeti nodded. "Wardle bawddrel."

Wind began to blow into the large room. A blanket of black sand crept over the lights, snuffing them out in large blocks, until the entire Globe was black. The elves began to scream. Gritty, darkness swirled off the Globe and filled the room. It gathered into a tornado which rose up toward the ceiling, where it finally burst into a puff of smoke and disappeared.

The room settled into an uneasy silence. No one dared to move.

The Globe lights came back on, and everything seemed to return to normal… Until the shadow appeared. Long and dark, the shadow of a man flashed across the floor before disappearing with an echoing laugh.

North stared at the place where the shadow had vanished. "Can it be?" he muttered. He called to on of his elves. "Dingle!"

After some debate among who that was exactly in a group of elves one appeared at North's side.

"Make preparations," North directed. "We are going to have company!" The elf nodded as North reached out to grasp a lever. It was only for dire emergencies. He twisted a dial and pulled down hard. The Globe began to glow and then a beam of light zoomed up the axis shaft toward the roof, and out into the world.

For the first time in decades, North had summoned the Guardians.

~*~

I sat on the edge of a rooftop watching Jack refreeze a portion of the sidewalk as a group of kids attempted to slide down it without falling down. There'd been a couple times a few kids ate it but nothing too serious. Kids are pretty resilient. The worst they'd have to coup with would be bruised bums.

The kids were laughing it up and Jack was enjoying himself. Although none of the children could see him he was still having a blast. He laughed along with them and floated right next to each one as they took their turn. A smile was plastered across my own face as I watched the scene.

Over the last… I don't know about four months I'd grown fond of the future Guardian of Fun. He was like the little brother I never had. Not to mention what we had been through together. I'd never forget trying to break into Santa's, or North's, Workshop. Or when he took me flying for the first time. Or… When I tried to go home.

"You know if you keep making that face it might just stick that way." I nearly jumped when I heard Jack's voice right beside me. He leisurely sat there like he didn't have a care in the world. I realized I must've been spacing out if he could pop up on me like that. And here I thought I'd grown used to keeping an eye out for him in case he attempted to sneak up on me.

"Sorry," I said out of habit.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was thinking back to when Phil threw your butt out in the snow," I casually replied hoping to sound as lighthearted as possible. Seeing as he'd gotten to know me so well these past few months he didn't buy it.

"Come on. You can tell me," he reassured. From the look on his face I knew he wasn't going to let this drop.

"It's just, how long has it been since I first appeared Jack?"

"Around four months why?"

I got up and glanced around at the town we were visiting. It was a little larger than Burgess and reminded me of where I grew up. The sun was starting to set and I saw most of the kids were heading home. A large gust of chilly wind came up and blew through my hair. It didn't bother me. In fact, I'd become fairly good friends with the North Wind.

"In all this time the Man in the Moon hasn't said one thing to me." I balanced on the edge of the building and walked on it like one would a tightrope. He just stood there, used to my behavior and waited for me to continue. "I'm not asking for a monologue. One sentence or one word would be enough."

"He never was much of a talker."

"Yeah, but at least he told you your name," I replied. I knew my name and past but still had no clue as to how I ended up where I did or why. Seeing as I was so distracted with my internal warfare I lost my balance and would have fallen off the building if a staff hadn't hooked me around the waist. Jack pulled it so I could regain my footing. "Thanks," I said adjusting myself. One perk of being, whatever the hell I currently was, was that the fall wouldn't have killed me. I learned I was much tougher than I had been as a regular human. I was thankful for that.

"Maybe he's trying to be dramatic," Jack tried to help. He didn't like seeing anyone unhappy. Especially me considering we spent almost all of our time together. Normally it wasn't hard to be joyful around him. But I was starting to wonder if I'd ever see Mema again or get to tell her goodbye. I talked to MiM every night but there was always nothing. Seeing Jack's face full of concern for me made me feel bad. This was exactly why I didn't want to bring this up.

"You're probably right. He'll wait until we're least expecting it and then start serenading 'What a Wonderful World.'" It got him grinning but worry reflected in his eyes. "Jack," I suddenly said trying to change the tone. "I bet I can beat you back to Burgess." I knew he couldn't resist a challenge.

~*~

He knew she was doing this to cheer him up. Or get his mind off that train of thought. It hadn't taken him long to discover she was one of those people who didn't want to see others troubled. He'd also learned she hardly ever complained, always willing to do whatever he wanted. He deduced she was the type of person who was happy when others were.

While it was admirable it was nearly impossible to get her to open up. She'd ask what he wanted to do before he got the chance to ask her. If he did ask first she usually said something she'd know he loved, like sledding or snowball fight. Although she was better at it now and he found he liked a lot of the things she did. If their attempt to break into Santa's workshop was anything to go by.

That's why he had to be persistent when she got down. She shouldn't be so surprised considering she did the exact same thing to him when he was upset. Still, Jackie had just challenged him. He smiled thinking of something which would definitely cheer her up.

~*~

Some would say I'm insane challenging Jack Frost to a race. The boy could fly, how could I possibly keep up? Another thing I noticed besides being tougher than normal was I could run extremely fast. I mean I could reach speeds which could challenge Jack Frost. This is coming from a girl who hates running. Not to mention, I could jump like I was constantly on the world's greatest trampoline. Weird combo right? Seeing as I could jump between and onto buildings I wasn't complaining. I had to stifle a snicker recalling the first time I raced Jack and how I kicked his little pale butt. Never thought I'd get to say that.

"I got a better offer," he said with a mischievous look on his face.

"What are you up to, Snowball?" I questioned.

"Nothing," was his answer as he played innocent. I wasn't buying it. He held out his hand meaning we were going to fly somewhere. I kept the dubious continence but took his hand without hesitation.

Two seconds later we were off soaring into the sky. No matter how many times he took me up here I would never get tired of it. It was just as epic as the first. "So are you going to tell me where we're going or am I supposed to guess?" I asked after a few minutes. The wind picked up and we went even faster as our friend gave us a gentle push.

"Have you ever seen Russia this time of year?" was his reply.


	4. New Guardians?

Meanwhile.

A little fairy flew above the head of a child who was fast asleep in their bed. The fairy ducked under the pillow and came out the other side with a tooth in her tiny hand, leaving a coin behind. Then she returned to Tooth's glamorous palace within a hollowed-out mountain. Hundreds of fairies were fluttering outside the castle walls, either returning from a mission of heading out to gather newly lost teeth.

Inside the castle the little fairy handed in the tooth and was given another coin and house address. In the center of all this was the Tooth Fairy herself. Half human, half hummingbird, Tooth was beautiful, with brightly colored feathers and delicate wings that flapped excitedly as she shouted orders.

"Moscow, Sector 9-twenty-two incisors, eighteen premolars. Uh-oh, heavy rain advisory!" She paused to check the map. "Des Moines, we've got a cusped at 23 Maple. Head out!"

"Wait!" she suddenly cried. All work halted. Holding a single tooth in the air, she turned around to face her many Mini Fairies. Her shimmering wings flapped with excitement. "It's her first tooth. Have you ever seen a more adorable lateral incisor in all your life?" Tooth gasped. The Mini Fairies nodded happily, tweeting with delight and then with concern as they noticed a light filling the sky stretched toward the castle and beyond. With a worried gulp of air Tooth gathered her most trusted fairy advisors and then took off like a rocket.

~*~

A sleeping child was dreaming of playing soccer. His dream swirled above his head in a mist of fine golden sand. This stream of dreamsand was just one of many being sent out from the Sandman. From high up in the clouds, Sandy controlled the dream, sending those magical golden threads to each child as he or she slept soundly.

His work brought him great joy. Sandy was patting his round belly with a sense of satisfaction when North's emergency signal zipped by. His joy quickly turned to apprehension. In a flash, he gathered the dreamsand around him and then created a small plane. Snuggling down into the cockpit Sandy set a course for due north and off he went.

~*~

Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny, ran through the subterranean tunnel as fast as his floppy feet could carry him. Easter eggs with little legs hopped out of his way. He was six feet tall and had to be careful not to bump his head while rushing. He popped out of the tunnels through a rabbit hole at the North Pole and climbed up a snowbank.

"Ah, it's freezing," Bunny complained. He slogged through the wet and cold terrain muttering to himself. "I can't feel my feet." He hopped quickly from one foot to the other, over and over, until he finally reached the warmth of North's fortress.

They met in the Globe Room as they waited for Sandy to arrive. North offered Bunny and Tooth cookies and eggnog while they awaited the fourth Guardian. As always, Tooth was busy directing her fairies to new teeth.

"This better be good, North," Bunny said still shivering from the cold outside.

At that moment Sandy appeared. His dreamsand plane dissipated as he floated down to the floor. "Sandy," North greeted. "Thank you for coming." Using images in dreamsand above his head he tried to convey to North how busy he was. "I know, I know," said North. "But I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious." Tooth hushed her Mini Fairies for a second while North cleared his throat. "My fellow Guardians," he began. "It is our job to watch over the children of the world and keep them safe. To bring wonder, hope, and dreams. And so, I've called us all here for one reason, and one reason only. The children are in danger. An enemy we have kept at bay for centuries has finally decided to strike back. We alone can stop him."

The four Guardians moved to the center of the room.

"The Boogeyman was here at the pole," North explained. All of them exchanged concerned looks.

Tooth couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Pitch? Pitch Black? Here?"

North nodded. "Yes! There was black sand covering the Globe. And then a shadow!"

Bunny was confused. "What do you mean black sand? I thought you said you saw Pitch." He moved away from his place next to the fireplace where he had been warming his feet.

"Well, oh, not exactly," North confessed.

Bunny was not amused as he took an egg out of seemingly nowhere and began working on it. "Not exactly? Can you believe this guy?" He looked at Sandy, who gave a sympathetic shrug and formed a question mark with his sand. "Yeah, you said it, Sandy."

North continued, "Look, Pitch is up to something very bad. I feel it, in my belly." He jiggled his belly in an ominous manner. Tooth's Mini Fairies watched him and let out little gasps.

"Hang on. You mean to say you summoned me here three days before Easter because of your belly?" asked Bunnymund. "Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas-."

He was interrupted by Tooth giving more orders to her fairies. "Argentina. Priority alert! A batch of bicuspids in Buenos Aires."

"Please Bunny. Easter is not Christmas," North added. He patted Bunny on his cheek and took the egg from him. In the background Tooth's orders could still be heard while Sandy was downing cups of eggnog a yeti offered.

"He he. Here we go," Bunny said. "North, I don't have time for this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up."

"No matter how much you paint, it is still an egg," North countered.

"Look mate I'm dealing with perishables," Bunny stated snatching back the egg. "You've got all year to prepare."

While North and Bunny argued and Tooth continued to work, Sandy noticed that the moon had come into view through a window in the ceiling. The moon's rays shined brightly, filling the Globe Room with moonlight. He dropped the cup he was holding and tried to signal to the other Guardians with his dreamsand images, but they weren't paying attention.

"Why are rabbits always so nervous," North asked messing with Bunnymund and almost knocked the egg out of his hand.

"Why are you always such a blowhard?" Bunny stated managing to save the egg.

Tooth flew in between the two. "Is that all in one house?" she asked one of her fairies.

"Tooth," North got her attention. "Can't you see we are trying to argue?"

"Sorry, not all of us get to work one night a year," she replied as the Mini Fairies tweeted and swirled around her. "Am I right Sandy?"

The Sandman made an image of an arrow and pointed to it.

Unfortunately, she got sidetracked. "Huh?! San Diego, Sector 2!"

"Come on, Pitch went out with the Dark Ages. We made sure of that, remember?" Bunnymund nonchalantly said.

"I know it was him. We have a serious situation," North replied.

"Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs," Bunny remarked.

Sandy didn't know what else to do so he grabbed one of North's elves and began to shake him. The elf's bells' rang throughout the room. The other Guardians finally stopped what they were doing. Sandy formed an image of a crescent moon above his head.

"Aah! Man in the Moon!" exclaimed North. "Sandy, why didn't you say something?"

Sandy gave North a frustrated look and dreamsand poured out of his ears like steam.

North spoke to the moon. "It's been a long time old friend. What is the big news?"

A beam of moonlight formed on a spot on the floor in the center of the four Guardians. Then the light shifted, darkening to shadows until it revealed a silhouette of Pitch. The Guardians continued to stare in disbelief.

"It is Pitch," Bunny admitted.

"Manny, what must we so?" asked North after looking at Bunny and patting his belly.

In response, the beam of moonlight grew brighter before shrinking to a thinner ray of light. At the center of the circle, the light illuminated an ornate symbol on the floor. The symbol rose out of the ground, revealing a large gem on top of a pillar. North was awed as the gem refracted light throughout the chamber, like a crystal.

"Uh guys, you know what this means?" Tooth asked the group with a gasp.

"He's choosing a new Guardian," North said.

"What? Why?" Bunny was stunned.

"Must be big deal," was the only answer North could give. "Manny thinks we need help."

"Since when do we need help?" the pooka replied looking to his fellow Guardians.

Tooth nodded. "I wonder who it's gonna be."

Sandy created an image of a four leafed clover over his head and Tooth voiced his guess for everyone to hear. "Maybe the Leprechaun?"

"Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog!" Bunny urgently chanted.

A sudden bright light flashed through the room. Above the glowing stone on the pillar, a holographic photo of a cloaked figure appeared. The figure held a hooked staff in his left hand.

"Jack Frost," North muttered dumbfounded.

The Mini Fairies all sighed with delight as the Guardians stared, baffled by Manny's choice. One almost fell to the floor.

"Ah, I take it back," Bunny whimpered. "The Groundhog's fine!"

"Well, ah as long as he helps to, ah… protect the children right?" Tooth stammered breaking out of her daydream like state.

Without warning another bright beam of light shot through the room catching all of them by surprise.

"Wait," Tooth said from her prime position. Another holographic figure was being created behind Frost. The outline of the figure was beginning to compose itself into a more defined image.

"What is goin' on?" Bunny inquired as confused as the rest of them.

"Manny has not chosen one… But two Guardians," North answered in astonishment.

"Two?!" Bunny incredulously blurted out. "As if Frost wasn't bad enough. Who is it now? If it's that bloody Groundhog…"

The figure finished forming and the image was standing back-to-back with Frost's. This figure was cloaked as well; in fact so well they couldn't see the face under the hood. Whoever it was proved to be shorter than the winter spirit. The only noticeable feature was a shoulder bag on the left shoulder.

"Just who the hell is that?" Bunny asked the perplexed group.

Sandy formed a question mark over his head and shrugged.

"Maybe they're new?" Tooth offered. Perhaps it was her vantage point or the fact she was a woman but she could have sworn she picked up feminine traits in the figures build. She decided to keep it to herself and wait to see if her hunch was correct.

"That's just great," Bunnymund said rubbing his temples. "We have a mystery figure here who we have no knowledge of whatsoever. And then Jack Frost? He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts. Right? He's an irresponsible, selfish-"

"Guardian," North interrupted. "And it will be interesting finding out who this second Guardian is. I feel he will be a great addition." As if for emphasis North patted his belly again.

Bunny shook his head. "I'll give number two the benefit of the doubt but… Jack Frost is many things but he is not a Guardian."


	5. Snow Day Blues and Butterflies

Jack sat on top of a post office box in St. Petersburg Russia, ready to make trouble. On a building nearby was Jackie and she was enjoying watching the show. After flying there they'd run around the city for a couple of hours before they decided to spice things up a bit.

~*~

He touched the end of his staff down to the ground, which sent frost streaking across the street. A Russian boy was taking a drink from a water fountain when the water froze midstream. His lips stuck to the icy spray. "Ahhh!" He screamed unable to move. I couldn't help but giggle thinking of how I used to get my tongue stuck to ice cubes.

A mailman came to help, but out of nowhere a patch of ice appeared under him. Boom! The man fell right on his butt. "Jack," I lightly warned. I was all for pranks but I didn't want someone to bust their tailbone.

The streak of frost continued up a rainspout. The windows of an apartment building frosted over. Inside, a goldfish swan to the surface of its bowl to eat but a thin layer of ice coated the top of the water. In the next room I could see a writer sitting next to a stack of papers. A sudden gust of wind blew his pages out the window. Luckily for him I jumped up, snatched the papers, and tossed them back into his window. I didn't bother worrying about the fish seeing as the little boy in the room seemed to be handling it. With that I leapt up to the neighboring building and watched the ice move along the walls. It froze power lines and clotheslines.

I felt a little bad hoping it wouldn't knock someone's power out. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jack messing around. I would've joined him but something fluttered right in my face and made me take notice of it. A lone butterfly. "What are you doing here little guy?" I gently asked holding out my hand. Not surprisingly it did land and slowly fluttered its wings. For as long as I'd been here I kept noticing butterflies. The weird part was they seemed to pop up everywhere I went. This one was no acception. Another odd note was they always flocked to me. At one point of another they'd land somewhere on me, even if only for a few seconds.

At first I'd been oblivious to their presence until one landed, literally, on my face. Ever since then I had to be careful because I never knew if one was gonna be on my arm or back. Something was up with them. Although they reminded me of monarchs they clearly weren't and I couldn't name their species. Shocking considering I even borrowed a book from the Burgess library on them. Plus, their coloring was were all different colors: orange, blue, pink, yellow, etc. I'd never seen such detail on one before. If I didn't know better I could've said their wings almost shimmered. Like they were coated in glitter or something. Then there was the fact they seemed to fluxuate. A couple days ago I noticed their wings appeared to change colors as they flew in different lighting.

"Got another one?" Jack asked form a rooftop ten feet above me.

"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around," I answered. The butterfly flew out of my hand, slowly circled me a couple times before it flew up to Jack. It circled his head once before it flew off into the night. I waved goodbye to it. Strange but it felt like the right thing to do. Jack smiled after it and started talking. "Doesn't that make the twentieth this month?" he inquired.

"Twenty-third," I corrected.

"Those little guys really seem to like you."

"Well I like them too. Who knows, maybe I smell like sugar?" I joked having no clue why they showed up.

"Jackie?"

"Yeah?"

"Come on, I gotta show you something." We climbed to what must have been the highest point in the city and gazed down to see what all his frost had done. He pointed to a nearby building and I gasped. On the side was a frost formation in the shape of a giant butterfly, It looked exactly like my necklace. Tonight I'd shoved my jacket in my bag because I really didn't need it. So tonight I wore only my black sports T-shirt with a big white 7 on the front. Around my neck was a gift from my grandmother. It was a silver outlined butterfly on a thin silver chain. The butterfly itself was beautiful because it was a mood detector that actually did work.

"Aw…" I said ruffling his white hair. "Thanks Jack, you're quit the artist."

"No problem. Did you enjoy Russia?" he asked

"Sure did," I beamed back.

We stayed there for a few minutes enjoying his handiwork. Finally Jack got up and stretched. "Ah, that was fun. Hey, wind!" The trees began to sway, and leaves flew into the air. He gathered the gusts and held out his hand for me. We knew each other well enough that if I hadn't taken his hand we would've stuck around until I was ready to leave. It was pretty convenient that we were usually on the same page when we wanted to head out. Like now, I was ready to leave too and grabbed on. "Take us home." The wind lifted us up, carrying us away from Russia.

"Whoooo-hooooo!" Jack shouted in joy.

"Yee-haw!" I called out.

~*~

When we got back, Jack decided to give the town a gift. Springtime was almost here, but there was still time for one more…

"Snow Day!" we both shouted. Jack jumped from our windy ride and landed in the town's center with me right beside him. We, in our different ways, zoomed through the streets. He forced people to wrap themselves tightly in their jackets but I felt perfectly fine without mine. I figured I'd gotten used to being around him, especially when he frosted things. That was when I noticed it. We both saw a boy, who I knew to be Jamie, walking home when Jack's wind ripped his book out of his hands. The book was called _They're Out There-Mythical Creatures, and the Unexplained Phenomena._ Something I would have read at his age.

As Jamie grabbed it back, Jack zoomed up next to him while I followed close behind. "Huh, that looks interesting. Good book?"

"Looks like," I stated. Jamie couldn't hear or see us so he merely continued on his way.

Claude and Caleb, twin boys from Jamie's grade, came rushing by. Passing through me with a _whoosh_ in the process. I kept my expression neutral for Jack, like it was no big deal, but each time it happened I couldn't help but feel a little sick. They were pushing each other and laughing as they went.

"All right! Yeah!" Claude cheered.

"Wahoo! Snow day!" Caleb hooted before shoving his brother into a snowdrift.

"Remind you of anything, Jack?" I giggled.

He rolled his eyes at me. "You're welcome!" he said grinning at the boys. But like Jamie, they couldn't see or hear us.

Jamie ran after the brothers. "Hey, guys, wait up. Are you coming to the egg hunt on Sunday?"

"Yeah, free candy!" answered Caleb.

"I hope we can find the eggs with all this snow!" added Claude.

The three boys soon reached Jamie's house. Jamie showed the twins his book. Jack and I watched them from our perches on the fence.

"Whoa," Jamie told his friends, it says here that they found Bigfoot hair sample and DNA in Michigan. That's like, superclose."

"Here we go again," Claude said with a moan.

Jamie looked at his tow-year-old sister, Sophie, playing in their front yard. She was wearing fairy wings and trying to ride their large greyhound. "You saw the video too, Claude. He's out there." Jamie entered the gate while the boys stood by the fence and waited.

Caleb chuckled. "That's what you said about aliens."

"And the Easter Bunny," Claude added.

Jamie grabbed his sled form the porch. "The Easter Bunny is real."

"Oh, the Easter Bunny's real all right. Real annoying, real grumpy, and really full of himself," Jack said balancing on the fence, even though the boys couldn't hear him.

"Come on, he can't be that bad," I said. In reality, Bunny had been one of my favorite characters, not counting Jack.

He snorted and gently shoved me like he was gonna knock me off the fence. He didn't but gave me a look. "Wait 'till Easter and I'll show you."

"Can't wait," I replied shoving him back. "Maybe I can snag some chocolate."

Claude giggled. "Come on, you guys believe anything."

Sophie got into the fun. "Easter Bunny!" She giggled, "Hop, hop, hop!" _How adorable._ Too bad she fell over from hopping. "Ow."

"Mom!" Jamie called into the house. "Sophie fell again."

Jamie's Mom came outside to see what was going on. "You okay, Soph?" She picked up her daughter and then dusted off the snow.

Caleb asked Jamie, "Are we sledding or what?"

At that, Jamie's Mom said, "Jamie, hat? We don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose." She handed Jamie his cap.

"Who's Jack Frost?" he asked her.

She smiled and answered, "No one, honey. It's just an expression."

"Hea!" the both of us said at the same time, offended. Jack gathered a perfect snowball off the ground. He stared at it and imitated Jamie saying, "Who's Jack Frost?"

"He's a beast," I stated in a serious voice before erupting into a fit of giggles.

Jack grinned at my joke and blew on the snowball. It turned a magical shade of blue. He faced Jamie, took aim, and… "Direct hit!" I cheered.

"Who threw that?" Jamie glanced around, laughing. He leaped into a group of kids playing in the snow.

"It wasn't Bigfoot, kiddo," Jack replied with a smile.

Jamie looked around for the snowball thrower. He found a couple of kids making a barricade and tossed a snowball at them. It hit a kid named Monty who fell face-first into the snow. "Ow," he said as he struggled to get back up.

A girl named Pippa went to throw a snowball at Jamie in retaliation when she was hit by one of mine. "Jamie Bennett! No fair!"

Jamie laughed, "You struck first."

Before Pippa could respond Jack hit Caleb in the side of the head with a snowball.

"Oh!" Claude giggled at his twin. Jack was just warming up for the battle. "Free for all!" he shouted as he supplied the kids with snowballs. "Alright, who needs ammo?" I made a few myself and pilled them there with his.

"Ow." Monty got hit again.

"Look at that," Jack said, watching the battle. I flashed him a smile before throwing my own snowball at Jamie. The kid was using his sled as a shield and was backing away when he bumped into a snowman. They both toppled over. Suddenly, a snowball hit a girl named Cupcake in the back of her head. She was the toughest girl in their grade. She held the fallen snowman's head in her hands. Cupcake looked around, searching for the kid who tossed it.

"Grrrrr," she growled.

The snowballs stopped flying as everyone turned to see what Cupcake would do.

Pippa shivered, "Crud, I hit Cupcake."

Monty pointed at Pippa. "She hit Cupcake.

Claude asked her, "You hit Cupcake?"

Jamie was terrified. Cupcake was looking at him like he'd thrown it. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact he kinda took out a good portion of her snowman. He was about to defend himself when another snowball pegged her. The kids all gasped in horror as the cold, wet hunk of snow left a magical blue hue.

"Oh," Claude said.

Caleb asked Monty, "Did you throw that?"

Monty shook his head. "No."

"Wasn't me," Pippa announced.

The moment was tense, but as Jack's blue magic oozed from the snow, Cupcake's face turned form anger to joy. She began to laugh. Then she began a game of chase with the other kids, the snowman's head still in her hands. Jamie jumped up to join the fun while Jack ran along, enjoying the excitement. I wasn't far behind.

As we reached the top of the hill, Jack said, "Ooh little slippery!" He blasted a sheet of ice behind him but over my head. All the kids fell to the ground, except for Jamie, who landed on his sled.

"Whoaaa!" he shrieked as his sled began to slide down the sheet of ice.

"Jamie, watch out!" Pippa warned as he flew by. His sled was picking up speed.

"Stop!" Caleb shouted. But Jamie kept on going.

"Jamie, turn turn!" Monty directed.

"That's the street!" Pippa cried out.

'What are you doing?" Caleb asked.

"Stop!" Claude shouted. "There's traffic!"

Jamie shot out from the trees and whooshed past a row of parked cars. Jack's path of ice continued down the street sending Jamie into the traffic Claude had warned about.

"Whoa!" Jamie cried as he barely missed a moving truck, sending furniture tumbling out the back and causing a four-car pileup.

We glanced at the damage as we kept up with him. Jack said to Jamie, "Don't worry, kid. I gothca." Jamie, of course, couldn't hear his reassurance. He became frightened as Jack shouted, "Hold on! It's gonna be all right."

"Ahhh!" Jamie's sled was sliding faster and faster. "No, no, no, no…" He narrowly missed hitting people in the crosswalk and dodged a couple walking their dog.

Jack threw up more ice, sending Jamie onto the sidewalk. "Keep up with me, kid! Take a left."

"Careful, Jack!" I yelled running behind the two.

"I got this," he replied.

A pedestrian told Jamie, "Slow down!"

Jamie was out of control by now. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Is that Jamie Bennett?" a woman asked her friend as Jamie zoomed by.

The friend replied while shouting to Jamie, "Hey! Watch it!"

"You watch it buddy!" I yelled right back.

A guy pointed in awe. "Look at that dude!" Jamie flew off the sidewalk and back into the street. He nearly knocked down the mail carrier.

We both looked at Jamie as I caught up with the boys. Jamie's face was full of fear, but there was also excitement in his eyes. The ride was fun, and we knew it. Jack turned the sled to protect Jamie from an oncoming snowplow, which I barely managed to dodge. Then he changed the pathway of the ice trail. Jamie's sled turned onto t newly formed ice ramp. "AAAAHHHHHH!" Jamie shouted as he rode off the ramp and launched into the air. His sled traveled over the statue of the town's founder. He landed safely in the fresh snow on the other side with a bump and a skid.

Jamie's friends ran over to make sure he had survived his insane ride.

"Oh my gosh!" Pippa exclaimed.

Jack stood on top of the statue with a pleased look on his face. I leaned against the bottom and watched the scene unfold.

"Yeah!"

"Jamie!" Claude shouted.

"Wow, that looks serious Jamie." Caleb checked out the landing site.

"Jamie, are you alright?" Pippa asked.

"Is he ok?" Monty wondered.

Jamie leaped up from the sled. He wasn't hurt, not even a scratch. "Whooaaa!" he said, excitedly. "Did you guys see that? It was amazing. I did a jump and slid under a-". A sofa skidded past and came to a stop, pushing Jamie over as it went.

"Whoops!" Jack said.

"Ouch," I added sympathetically winching.

Claude cringed. "Oooh!"

The kids watched to see if Jamie survived a second time. He slowly rose from behind the sofa, grinning. There was a new hole in his smile, and Jamie held up his tooth.

Jamie showed the others. "Cool! A tooth!"

"Dude!" Claude said. "That means cash."

Caleb was jealous. "Tooth Fairy cash!"

I looked up to see Jack was bummed. The Tooth Fairy had just stolen all of his glory. "On no…" he moaned.

"That's totally awesome," Monty said.

"You lucky bug!" Claude added.

"Lucky," Caleb agreed.

"No!" Jack shook his head. The day's adventure was his, not Tooth's.

"I gotta put this under my pillow." Jamie held his tooth very carefully.

"I wish I lost my tooth," Caleb and Pippa said at the same time.

Jack looked pissed. "Ah, wait a minute! Come on. Hold on. Hold on! What about all that fun we just had? That wasn't the Tooth Fairy, that was me!"

Claude said, "I lost two teeth in one day once. Remember that?"

"What are you gonna by?" Cupcake asked.

"How much do you think she's going to leave?" Caleb pondered.

Jack was fixed on the kids and I could tell he was getting more frustrated. Storm clouds gathered above our heads and began to darken. The sky rumbled and snow flurries started to fall.

"Let's go," Pippa told the others. "I'm cold."

Claude looked at Jamie. "What are you gonna spend your money on?"

"My ears are freezing," Caleb complained as the temperature continued to drop.

"I can't feel my toes," added Claude. "it's hot coco time."

Jack jumped down from the statue, still trying to remind the kids about the good time they'd had in the snow. But because they couldn't see or hear us, one by one they left for home. Jumping in front of Jamie, Jack tried to block his way. "What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention around here?" he muttered. Whoosh. Jamie dashed through him and I flinched.

Jack was shaken for a second. By the time he looked around, the kids had disappeared and we were the only two on the street. Without saying anything I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. We didn't talk, there was nothing left to be said.

We felt a chill in the air he'd created. On impulse I pulled my jacket out of my bag and put it on. I didn't need it but acted on habit so I didn't zip up. He held out his hand and I gently took it. Then, gathering the wind for a ride, Jack lifted us up and we soared over the town in silence. My mind filled with apprehension. I'd had my suspicions that the movie was starting when we were in Russia. Now there was no denying it. That meant soon enough Jack would meet the Guardians and face off with Pitch.

Getting to see the Guardians would be nice. But what could I do to help them? Run around and distract Pitch? Crap, I was a bit worried about meeting the stupid Boogeyman. He knew everyone's fears, so would he know mine? Right now that was of everyone learning I came from another world where this was all a movie. Would he blurt it out? I hope not… Still, I decided a long time ago that no matter what happened I would stay by Jack's side and help him anyway I could. After all, big sisters protect their little brothers.


	6. Meetings and Conflicts

Later that night.

Jamie was in his bedroom, playing with a toy robot. Behind his head, drawings of UFOs, aliens, Bigfoot, and other mythical creatures were pinned to the wall. When he got home that afternoon, Jamie had made a drawing of himself flying midair on his sled. Now it was hanging proudly on the wall too.

"I did this jump and it was amazing, and I slid under a car and it was awesome," Jamie was telling the days adventure to his mom and sister. "Then I was flying down this hill and I was like, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, through all these cars, and then the sled hit this… this thing, and I was like, way up in the air." Jamie used the robot to show his mom how he flew. Sophie sat on his bed while their dog jumped up and down excitedly on the floor. They were paying attention to the whole thing. "And then bam! Then the sofa hit me, and see?" He opened wide and explained how the tooth fell out. "Ah hoo had aw!" Sophie jumped up and tried to put her fingers in her brother's mouth.

Jamie's mom pulled her back. "Alright, you," she said to Jamie. "Tooth under your pillow?"

He placed his robot on the nightstand and then reached for his favorite stuffed rabbit. "Yeah," he replied with a satisfied smile. "I'm ready." Under his pillow was the tooth, a camera, and a flashlight.

She saw the look of anticipation on his face and warned, "Now don't stay up trying to see her, Jamie, or she won't come."

"But I can do it this time," he assured her. "You want to help me, Soph? We can hide and see the Tooth Fairy!"

Sophie began jumping up and down on the bed. "Hide, hide, hide hide…"

Jamie's mom gathered Sophie into her arms. The dog began licking Jamie's face. His mother shook her head. "Straight to bed now, mister."

"Mom," Jamie whined. But she was serious about bedtime. She carried Sophie into the hall, closing Jamie's door behind her.

Jack and I hung upside down outside of Jamie's window. His cool breath frosted over the glass. The full moon above us lit up the entire sky. We returned to our normal positions and stood on the roof looking up to it.

"If there's something I'm doing wrong, I'd really like to know what it is," he said to the moon. ""Cause I've tried _everything_ and no one ever sees me." No answer. "I mean, you put me here, the least you can do is tell me why." He waited a second before continuing. "The say something to Jackie. You owe her that much." I was shocked and stood there not knowing what to say to that. I was certain I wouldn't get an answer but I was glad Jack stood up for me. The moon continued to shine, steady and unchanging. Jack shock his head and grumbled, "Why do I even bother?"

"We'll get an answer one day Jack," I spoke up. "We just have to wait a little longer."

"I've waited for over three hundred years, Jackie," he sounded a tad strained. "How much longer will I have to?"

"Call it a hunch but I'm positive you'll get your answers soon." If he had to wait this long for answers who knows when, or if, I would ever get mine.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking he quickly added, "And you will too. Just don't give up."

I sighed but nodded in agreement. At that moment the wind decided to blow my hood up over my eyes. "Nice," I commented.

"See, even the wind agrees with me," Jack said.

I blew a bit of hair out of my face. We moved away from Jamie's house, jumping onto a telephone pole. He froze the line as he went but left my line alone. As we walked along, a stream of dreamsand zipped behind Jack's head. Strands of dreamsand surrounded us on their way into the bedroom windows of sleeping children.

"Jack smiled, "Right on time, Sandman." We ran along the telephone wire until we caught up to a strand and then began to follow it. We touched it and the stream morphed into a dolphin. It circled us playfully a few times before it flew into a nearby window.

~*~

Another swooped downward into Cupcake's room. She was fast asleep and held a unicorn in her hands while her dream swirled above her head. Cupcake was imagining a story about a little girl riding a unicorn. In her dream, the unicorn was dashing around her room.

When the room began to darken the sleeping girl didn't stir. A shadowy figure rose from under her bed. Pitch, the Boogeyman, was there. Hiding. Waiting. And now he was ready for action.

He laughed a sinister chuckle as he studied Cupcake's happy little dream. "Ohhh," he mocked. "I thought I heard the clippity-clop of a unicorn. What an adorable dream!" His frowning lips curled into a dark grin. "And look at her. Precious child. So sweet, so full of hope and wonder." He raised his eyebrows. "Why there's only one thing missing… A touch of fear." Pitch touched a bony finger to the unicorn in her dreams. The creature turned black and then shriveled before melting into nothingness. Cupcake flinched in her sleep. "Ha, ha, ha! That never gets old," he snickered. He raised his finger again and swirled the dreamsand around Cupcake's bed. It turned into black nightmare sand. "Feel your fear," Pitch told her. "Come on, come on." He watched her toss and turn. "That's right."

The black sand gathered and formed into the shape of a bucking horse. A Nightmare had taken shape. "Yesss," Pitch hissed. "What a pretty little Nightmare. Now-" he turned to the scary, dark horse- "I want you to tell the others, the wait is over." He tossed the Nightmare out the window where it met up with the other Nightmares gathering on the streets. They all flew off together, away from town.

Pitch stepped out of Cupcake's room and watched them go. He walked in a crooked line, careful to avoid any beams of moonlight. From the shadows, Pitch glanced up at the moon and said, "Don't look at me like that Old Man. My Nightmares are finally ready. Are your Guardians?"

~*~

The wind rushed by again and I zipped up my jacket so I wouldn't snag it on anything. I'd gotten stuck on a tree branch before and trust me when I say it was not fun. Every time I put my hood down the wind thought it would be hilarious to blow it back up. After about the fifth time I gave up and simply fixed my hair so it was tucked in. "What is with you tonight?" I asked but got no semblance of nay answer.

"Whoa!" Jack and I said at the same time. We'd been walking high above the town watching dreamsand when suddenly a shadowy figure ran past. I might've known it was coming and who it was but Bunny still caught me off guard. We looked at each other for a second and shrugged. Both of us leapt down from the wires to investigate. At first all we could hear were the noises of townspeople preparing to go inside for the night.

A man asked his wife, "Did you leave the windows open again?" We didn't hear the reply, but a person in another house said, "The garage door is wide open." Both of us whizzed by houses, still on the lookout for the figure. Once again, something zoomed by us. Neither of us could see what it was, so we jumped onto the roof of a truck for a better view. Effectively setting off the car alarm. _Whoosh._ There it went again. A trash can tumbled over. We hopped down from the truck and then scooted backward into a dark alley scanning the area.

"Hello, mates." We spun to face the owner of the voice. Squinting in the dim light as Bunny stepped out from the shadows.

Bunnymund spoke first. "Been a long time. Blizzard of '68 I believe? Easter Sunday, wasn't it?"

Jack's jaw dropped and I beat mine was the same. "Bunny? You're not still made about that, are you?" Jack inquired.

"Yes," Bunny answered simply messing with one of his boomerangs. "But this is about something else. Guess I'm lucky you're both here. Saved me the trouble of tracking you down, mate," he pointed at me with his boomerang. _Me? Mate? Does he think I'm a…_ My thoughts were interrupted as he glanced around the alley, calling, "Fellas."

Before either of us could react, two big hairy hands reached forward and lifted us off the ground. "Hey!" Jack protested while I just kicked the air.

"Durbfa wahla," one yeti said to the other attempting to position us in their grasps better.

"Put us down," Jack insisted. I kept quiet, waiting for what was about to happen next. The yetis shoved us into a red sack. I knew well enough what was going on outside as we struggled.

"Ow," I whispered. "Jack, get your staff out of my eye."

"Get your foot off my face," came his muffled reply somewhere under me.

~*~

Outside the bag the first yeti took out a snow globe and then smashed it on the ground, saying, "Durtal bardla burdlew!" A magic portal opened in front of them. The yetis indicated that Bunny should so first saying, "Dward urghwetre."

"Me?!" Bunnymund pointed to himself. "Not on your nelly. See you back at the Pole." And with that, Bunny stomped his big foot on the ground. A rabbit hole appeared and he jumped into it. Once it closed the only sign it had ever been there was two pink flowers popping up.

"Bwardla arghl," a yeti said before tossing the two into the snow globe.

"Ahhhhh!" both their voices echoed as they fell. The two yetis leapt in after them.

~*~

Tooth was running her business from North's fortress. "Tangiers! 421 rue de Barnet! Allez!" She sent a Mini Fairy to retrieve a tooth from that address.

Suddenly, a sack flew out of a portal and thudded onto the floor.

"They're hear," North announced.

Two elves peaked into the bad and Jack opened the sack enough for us to look out.

"Walla walla, Washington, we've got a trampoline mishap at 1340 Ginger Lane," Tooth told a fairy. "Canine lateral and central incisor. Ouch!" The little fairy hurried away.

North cleared his throat. "Quiet." He looked right at us. "Hea, there he is, Jack Frost. And your little friend," he indicated toward me. Raising his arms, he welcomed us. Sandy made a snowflake out of dreamsand appear above his head. Then he smiled and waved at me.

"Wow. You've got to be kidding me," Jack said. I nodded my head. The two yetis from earlier grabbed us again and pulled us upright. "Hea, hea. Whoa, put us down."

"I hope the yetis treated you well," North said.

"Oh, yeah," Jack replied, sarcastically. "We loved being shoved in a sack and being tossed through a magic portal."

"Oh good." North nodded not getting it. "That was my idea." Bunny entered the room and North said, "You know Bunny obviously."

"Obviously," Jack stated and I held back a snicker at his enthusiasm. Bunny stood to the side, with his arms crossed, while the Mini Fairies swarmed around Jack.

"And the Tooth Fairy." North made the introduction.

Before Jack could answer, Tooth glided toward him. "Hello, Jack," she greeted. "I've heard a lot about you and your teeth."

Jack put a hand to his mouth. "My… my what?"

Tooth leaned in way too close for him to be comfortable. "Open up," she said. "Are they really as white as they say?" She was very excited as she pried open his mouth. "Yes!" Tooth gasped. "Oh, they really do sparkle like freshly fallen snow." Some of her fairies began to flutter like butterflies around Jack's face, trying to get a look in his mouth. "Girls, pull yourselves together. Let's not disgrace the uniform," she ordered them all back. Then, she gave me a look and I crossed my arms like, 'You better not even think about coming over here.'

North continued with the introductions. "And Sandman." The dream maker had fallen asleep. _Way to make a first impression._ North patted him on his shoulder. "Sandy. Sandy! Wake up." Sandy bolted awake and smiled at us.

"Now that we have introduced ourselves it would be best if you do the same. Jack Frost we know, but you," he gestured toward me, "are still a mystery."

Jack put a hand in front of me defensively. "I don't see how that's any of your business." I smiled under my hood at him. _It's adorable how he's standing up for me._

"It is right thing to do in this situation," North explained.

Sandy pointed at me and made a question mark.

"What he means is both of you know us but we only know Jack," Tooth giving orders and flew near me.

Jack gave me a look which conveyed a lot. Thanks to the four months we'd spent together I knew exactly what he meant. He was silently saying I didn't have to answer them if I didn't want to. Guess he wanted them to stay out of my privacy, whatever I had left at this point.

"Come on," Bunny grumbled. "Let's get this show on the road. Let the bloke speak for himself."

Ok, that is the third time he's called me a boy. Before Jack had the chance I put my hand up like a 'I got this.' I took a step and deep breath to compose myself. "I'm sorry for boring you," my voice heavy with sarcasm. "But do I look like a 'bloke' to you?" I pulled my hood down to reveal my face and unzipped my jacket.

The expression on everyone's faces were priceless. Their mouths hung open upon seeing me for the first time. Sandy made a female symbol overtop his head and then an enormous exclamation point. The only one who wasn't stunned was Tooth. In fact, she had a knowing smile on her face.

"Crikey," Bunny finally managed.

"No, you don't," Jack answered seeing as no one else was going to.

"Thank you, Jack," I replied pulling my jacket off and shoving it in my bag. It had caused enough problems. Besides, the Workshop was pretty warm. Off to the side the yetis started flipping out. They waved their arms around and pointed at me. I had no slue what they were saying but it sounded like they were embarrassed. "What's up with them?" I asked North.

"They are saying they are sorry. If they had known you were a girl they would not have tossed you into sack," North translated. "Nor would I have ordered them to do so."

"It's alright guys," I told the yetis. "I don't break that easy." I turned back to North and the others. "So, seeing as you had me shoved in a bag it's safe to assume you thought I was a boy too, huh?"

"Oh, well, um," he stammered.

I glanced over at Sandy. "You too?"

He rubbed the back of his head and then sheepishly nodded.

"Great. Nice to know sexism is alive and well," I commented. None of them could really counter to that.

"Listen, Sheila," Bunnymund finally spoke up. "We're sorry for thinkin' you was a bloke. But we had no way of knowin' otherwise." His ears were down and it was so damn cute. I nearly melted right there. North and Sandy had the same type of expressions on their faces and I could see the yetis in the background looking at the floor.

"It's alright," I sighed. "Make sure you don't assume this sort of things in the future though. The next guest you have might not be so forgiving." I managed a smile and I think it put them at ease.

"Will do," North assured.

"I was right," Tooth said out of nowhere.

"Wait, Tooth, you knew?" Bunny asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

'I wasn't a hundred percent sure," she explained. "Call it woman's intuition."

"You fellas would do well to never ignore or doubt that," I added.

"Now that is settled might we learn your name?" North inquired.

Out of the corner of my vision I saw Jack attempting to hide a grin. "Jackie Frost," I stated. "Pleasure meeting you all."

"Jackie Frost?" Bunnymund repeated.

"Yes? Did I stutter?" I heard Jack let out a small chuckle and I simply grinned. Poor Bunny.

"Really?" Tooth exclaimed invading my personal space. "Are you two related?"

"Nope, just the same last name," I said.

"Might as well be," I could've sworn I heard Jack whisper under his breath. I flashed him a smile while attempting to keep Tooth off me at the same time.

"I don't believe this" Bunny moaned rubbing his temples. "This is exactly what we needed. Two of them."

I crossed my arms and gave him a glare. It was interrupted as Tooth pried open my mouth and examined me. "Aww!" I called out.

"Hm. They're not as white as Jack's but you have been brushing and flossing. Good job," she complemented.

"Thanks," I stated as she removed herself.

"Not that this isn't fascinating," Jack broke in. "But anyone want to tell us why we're here?" I could hear impatience in his voice.

Sandy tried to answer by making numerous dreamsand images. They were too vague and disappeared too quickly for us to understand him.

"That's not really helping," Jack told him. "But thanks, little man." To the others he said, "I musta done something really bad to get you four together." He walked around the room, froze and elf and then turned to North. "Am I on the naughty list?"

North laughed so hard, his belly actually shook. "On the naughty list? You hold the record!"

Before he could say anything more I cut in. "Oh, Jack, I'm so proud of you!" I beamed. Everyone else seemed to be put off why I was praising him. "Am I on it too?" I curiously inquired.

He seemed taken aback for a second. The he let out a low chuckle. "You are…" It seemed like he was racking his brain for answers. "I am not sure which list you are on."

The other Guardians seemed surprised by this. "But I thought everyone was on one list or the other," Bunny said.

"And you know which one everyone's on," Tooth added.

"Yes, but I cannot seem to recall her name." It really appeared to bother him so I decided to drop it.

"It's fine. I'm probably right after Jack anyway."

The disconcerting look stayed on his face for a few more seconds before it faded away. "No matter. We overlook. Now we are wiping clean the slate," he answered, mixing up the phrase.

"How come?" Jack asked.

"Why?" I wondered.

"Good questions," Bunnymund stated.

"How come and why?" North repeated. "I'll tell you how come and why," he turned to focus on us. "Because now you are both Guardians."

That knocked me for a loop. I knew this was gonna happen to Jack but me? _Me?!_ While we both stood there entirely confused the yetis lit ceremonial torches. Elves leaped down from columns, unfurling banners as they went. A few of the Mini Fairies brought us flower necklaces, which we refused.

"What are you doing?" he pushed the fairies back. "Get off me."

"No thank you," I told them a little more politely. Horns blared throughout the room and nearly scared us to death.

"This is the best part," North told us. An elf marching band entered the room while the yetis pushed us to the designated spot on the floor. More elves brought in a pair or ceremonial boots. I almost smiled at now girly they looked until the elves brought me a ceremonial coat. It was like my old one but more gaudy of a green. Silver outlined the edges and I caught gems embedded in there. I refused it as Jack did the shoes.

A yeti handed North a thick old looking book. He blew off the dust and then began searching for the right page. Jack slammed his staff on the floor. Frost and wind blasted throughout the room. Everyone stopped as the torches blew out. The Guardians held confused and startled expressions.

"What makes you think we would want to be Guardians?" Jack asked and I nodded.

North looked at us and chuckled. "Of course you two do." He cues the elf band to start playing again. "Music!"

"No music!" we shouted. The band gave up, and with a huff one of the elves tossed his trumpet onto the ground and stomped out of the room. "Look," Jack said to them, "this is all very flattering, but, ah, you don't want me. You're all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times. I'm not a Guardian."

"That's exactly what I said!" Bunny agreed.

Sandy, North, and Tooth looked over to me. "Don't look at me. I'm a freespirit. Besides, I usually follow him," I pointed to Jack.

Tooth flew over to us. "Jack, Jackie, I don't think you understand what it is we do." We all looked at the massive Globe in the center of the room. "Each of those lights is a child," Tooth began.

North picked up the story. "A child who believes. And good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them." Then he added, "Tooth, fingers out of mouth."

Tooth had been examining Jack's mouth again. She couldn't help herself. "Oh, sorry. They're beautiful." She actually blushed and I gently poked Jack in the arm with my elbow.

North went on saying, "Okay, no more wishy-washy! Pitch is out there doing who knows what!"

"You mean the Boogeyman?" Jack snickered.

"Yes!" North exclaimed. "When Pitch threatens _us_ , he threatens _them_ as well." North pointed to all the tiny lights on the Globe.

"All the more reason to pick someone more qualified," Jack said starting to walk away.

"Pick?" North sounded frustrated. "You think we pick? No you both were chosen, like we were all _chosen_! By Man in Moon."

This caught both of our attention. "What?" he asked.

"Last night, Jack, Jackie," Tooth explained. "He chose you."

Bunny snorted. "Maybe."

Jack squinted at North. "The Man in the Moon? He talks to you?"

"He chose both of us?" I interjected. _Why'd he pick me? Wasn't Jack enough?_

"You see, you cannot say no," North said. "It is destiny."

Jack looked overwhelmed and I felt the same. We both ran our hands through our hair. Jack asked, "But why wouldn't he tell us that himself?" He sighed. "After three hundred years, this is his answer. To spend _eternity_ like you guys, cooped up in some hideout, thinking of new ways to bribe kids? No that's _not_ for me. No offense." I nodded when he looked to me and smiled.

"How's that not offensive?" Bunny sneered. "You know what I think? I think we just dodged a bullet. I mean, what's this clown and Sheila know about bringing joy to children, anyway?"

Jack felt the need to defend us. "Jackie can throw a snowball with the best of them. And, you ever hear of a snow day? I know it's no hardboiled egg, but kids like what I do."

Bunny replied, "But none of them believe in you." He leaned in toward Jack, completely ignoring me, and said softly, "Do they? You see, you're invisible, mate. It's _like_ you don't even exist."

I gently out a hand on Jack's shoulder to comfort him.

"Bunny! Enough!" Tooth flittered around.

Jack patted my hand before saying, "No, the kangaroo's right." Everyone, even the yetis, had looks of 'oh shit'. I only rolled my eyes.

Bunny glared at him. "The… the what? What'd you call me? I am not a kangaroo, mate."

"Oh," Jack scoffed. "And this whole time I thought you were. If you're not a _kangaroo_ , what are you?"

"I'm a bunny," Bunny said getting right in Jack's face. "The Easter Bunny. People believe in me." By the expression on Jack's face I knew Bunny hit a nerve.

I shoved Jack out of the way and got right in the pooka's face. "That's it. I don't care if you are the damn Easter Bunny," I got right in his face and sneered at him. "No one talks to my little brother like that and gets away with it." He actually took a step back. The surprised look on his face mirrored everyone else's. I was shorter than Jack but I could be pretty menacing when I was pissed off. Now was one of those times. "You and me you oversized puffball. Right here, right now!" I was gonna go after him but cold arms snaked through my own and held me back.

"Calm down, Sheila!" Bunny said narrowly avoiding a kick.

"Come on, let me at him! I can take him, Jack." Tooth flew in front of Bunny and wisely got him away from me.

"I know you can take him," Jack finally released me. "But it wouldn't prove anything." He attempted to calm me down but I was so angry I was shacking.

Seeing the entire situation going downhill fast Sandy patted North on the arm. North took his hint.

He stepped forward. "Jack, Jackie," he interrupted Jack trying to keep me from getting upset again. "Walk with me."


	7. Sleigh Rides Are Fun!

We followed him through the Globe room toward another area of the Workshop.

"Sorry 'bout earlier," I told Jack while we trailed behind North.

"For what?" he asked.

"You know…" I ran a hand through my hair.

"You mean when you said I was your little brother?" I couldn't really think of what else to say so I only nodded. "Are you sorry you said it or because you think I'm offended?"

"The second!" I nearly yelled. "I do view you as a little brother, I'm not sorry to admit it but I know I'm probably not the best big sister material."

"What are you talking about? Of course you are!" I looked at him. "You like flying and picking snow ball fights, you handle the cold fairly well. You're caring and considerate. And no matter what happens you always seem to have the patience to put up with me. Why wouldn't I want a big sister like that? The only problem is why would you want a little brother like me?" His face held a small amount of hurt and my heart went out to him.

"Jack, you're the best brother a girl could want. You give my all the privacy I want, and when I want it. You're funny and enjoy spending time with kids. I've always loved the snow so that's a plus. I'll admit we don't always see eye to eye on some things but that's to be expected. And really rare," I explained. "You take me flying all the time and you have a kind heart." I ruffled his white hair. "So no matter what happens I'll protect you."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around since I'm the boy?"

"Don't you start on that track too. Besides I'm older."

"By what logic? I have you beat by three hundred years."

"By my own logic. Even if I'm not physically older I'm still more mature," I flaunted.

"Whatever you say, Sis," Jack chuckled.

"You got that right, Bro," I countered.

North led us into an elevator that looked like a Christmas ornament. When the door opened we stepped out into North's factory. We took in the yetis, elves, and toys. Jack said, "It's nothing personal, North. What you all do… it's just not our thing."

North replied, "Man in Moon says it is your thing. We will see." With big footsteps North hurried through the factory. We struggled to keep up because we kept getting distracted. Not to mention North had leg length on us.

"Slow down, wouldja?" Jack asked. "I've been trying to bust in here for years. I want a good look."

North refused to slow down even a little. "What do you mean, 'bust in'?"

"We haven't tried anything, recently," I assured looking at a row of robots.

"Oh, don't worry," Jack backed me up. "We never got past the yetis."

A yeti nearby pounded a fist into his palm and growled a warning. "Rwwarrrr."

I smiled at him and greeted, "Hey, Phil." He gave us the hand signs which meant, 'I'm watching you.'

North was growing impatient with our antics. "Keep up, Jack! Keep up, Jackie!" We really tried to keep pace, but there was so much to see. Yetis were building toys and moving packages while elves were test-piloting flying machines.

"Whoa!" Jack dodged a duck toy while I swerved to avoid a kite to the head.

"I always thought the elves made the toys," I said. I had to try and at least sound curious.

"We just let them believe that," North answered. Then he glanced over his shoulder. We followed his gaze to a group of elves eating tinsel and covering each other in Christmas lights. "Very nice! Keep up the good work!" North encouraged them moving me and Jack along.

As we went deeper into the factory, yetis and elves brought North toys for inspection. One yeti was painting a robot blue. "I don't like it," North stated waltzing past. "Paint it red."

"Well, I like the blue ones," I lightly tried to rectify the situation a little seeing as he had become exasperated. He had painted a whole stack of them already. In a booming voice North announced, "Step it up, everybody."

As the factory roared with increased energy, we entered North's private office. The shelves were filled with sketches, parts, and various toys. There were blocks of ice on his workbench from which he had carved prototypes. When North rolled up his sleeves we could see the 'Naughty' and 'Nice' tattoos. He took a plate from an elf. "Fruitcake?" he offered.

"No thanks," we politely refused.

He threw the plate across the room. It slammed into the wall with a crash. North stared with hooded eyes at us, "Now we get down to tacks of brass," North said with a growl.

"Tacks of brass?" Jack repeated softly.

"He meant brass tack," I whispered to him. He nodded in understanding.

North cracked his knuckles and we stopped talking. A gust of wind closed the door, and it elaborately locked itself. I put myself between North and Jack as his advancements backed us toward the door. I knew he wasn't going to do anything bad but instincts kicked in.

"Who are you Jack and Jackie Frost?" North asked us. "What are your centers?" He poked my forehead and then Jack in his chest.

"Our what?" I wondered.

Jack looked down at North's thick finger, "My center?"

"If Man in Moon chose you both to be Guardians you must have something very special inside," North explained. "Hmmmm." He picked up a set of Russian nesting dolls, carved into his likeness. "Here," he told us. "This is how you see me, no? Very big, intimidating. But if you get to know me a little…" He handed the doll to Jack. "Well, go on."

With a curious expression, Jack set aside his staff and then opened the first doll. Inside was a slightly smaller doll. This one was a cheery Santa with red cheeks.

"You are downright jolly," Jack commented.

"Ah," North said. "But not just jolly." He encouraged us to continue opening the dolls. Each one kept getting smaller as we took turns removing them. They were all variation of North. "I am also mysterious," he explained pointing to one doll. "And fearless." He pointed at another. "And caring." One more to go. "And at my center…" This doll was small enough to fit in our palms.

"There's a tiny wooden baby?" Jack joked. I lightly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Look closer. What do you see?" North instructed.

"You have big eyes?" I threw out.

"Yes!" North beamed. "Big eyes. Very big! Because they are full of wonder. That is my center. It is what I was born with. Eyes that have always seen the wonder in everything!" With a wave of his arms, the toys on North's shelves burst to life. Jack-in-the-boxes popped. Trains sped around the room. Solders began to march. Toy planes zoomed around. An elf was lifted and carried by a balloon. "Eyes that see lights in the trees and magic in the air." A toy plane stalled in front of North before taking flight again. "This wonder is what I put into the world and what I protect in children. It is what makes me a Guardian. It is my center." North looked to us. "What are yours?"

"I don't know," Jack stated.

"No idea," I admitted. Jack and I stared down at the tiny Santa in Jack's palm. North reached out and then closed Jack's palm around the doll, silently telling him to keep it.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Bunny came running in. "We have a problem, mate," Bunny announced in a panicked rush. "Trouble at the Tooth Palace."

North immediately led Bunny, Sandy, Jack, and me to the sleigh hanger. Bunny gave me a good birth but I didn't pay him any attention. Apparently, Tooth had already gone ahead to her place. Several yetis rushed in to prepare the sleigh for launch.

"Boys, shipshape," North told the yetis. "As soon as possible."

Jack stepped out of the way as a yeti hurried by. "North! North!" he called for his attention. "I told you we're not with you guys. There's no way we're climbing into some rickety old-". The sound of pounding hooves and snatching reindeer cut him off. The reindeer were bigger than I thought they'd be. One snorted and made a move toward Jack. I pulled him back as North stepped in between the two and gave the deer a reassuring pat. The sleigh itself was incredible. It was enormous and shining wings unfolded out to the sides.

"Epic," I nearly cheered.

"Whoa," was all Jack could say.

North called the massive reindeer to a halt. The sleigh stopped, and the yetis finished preparations for takeoff.

We looked at each other and I smiled at Jack. "Come on," I lightly urged.

"Okay," Jack said. He was as excited as I was to get inside and check it out. "One ride. But that's it."

"Yeah!" I beamed climbing up in, Jack right behind me.

At Bunny's astounded look North said, "Everybody loves the sleigh." He gave a smile and nod to Sandy, who then climbed into his own seat in the back. Taking the reins, North wrapped them around his powerful arms, then turned to Bunny, who was still standing outside the sleigh. "Bunny, what are you waiting for?" North inquired.

"I think my tunnels might be faster, mate." He used one of his big feet and pushed it against the side of the sleigh. That part of it moved in response. "And, um, safer."

North reached out and hauled Bunny aboard with one hand. He plopped him right next to where I was sitting. I was effectively between him and where Jack stood. "Ah, get in. Buckle up."

Bunnymund looked frantically around in his seat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where are the bloody seat belts?"

North laughed. "That was just an expression." He asked the yetis, "Are we ready?"

"Bunny?" I asked. He looked over at me. "If you're nervous you can hold my hand," I offered him my right hand while giving him a gentle smile. I couldn't stay mad at people for long. Especially since I knew him and Jack would make up later. It did help he was fluffy and had huge soft looking ears. And big eyes filled with panic.

He gulped. "No thanks, Sheila. I'm fine."

I saw a yeti shake his head, but North ignored him and cracked the reigns. "Good!" he shouted. "Let's go! Clear!" Elves and yetis scattered to get out of the way as the sleigh headed down a long sledding track. All of us enjoyed the speed, except Bunny. One hand scrapped grooves into the side of the sleigh while the other latched onto mine. It didn't hurt though he did have one hell of a grip on me.

"Out of the way!" North shouted to a few elves as they passed. "Hyah!" He shook the reigns and the reindeer picked up the pace. The sleigh went straight up for a few seconds, then zoomed straight down. Sandy grinned and Jack and I shouted in delight. North pulled a lever, sending the sleigh into a corkscrew. "I hope you like the loopty-loops!"

Sandy had the right idea and out both his arms up. When I tried to put my own free hand up Bunny quickly leaned over and put it back down. "Don't do that!" The next moment he almost turned green. "I hope you like carrots," he threatened to throw up his lunch. I patted the hand still holding mine and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Here we go!" North called out. The sleigh reached the bottom of the track and shot off the ramp at the end. It reminded me of one of those old wooden rollercoasters. We went up and out into the bright blue sky.

"Wooo-hoooo!" Jack raised his arms in the air.

"Klassno!" North told the reindeer.

Jack leapt the rear of the sleigh to see the North Pole disappear as we sped through the sky. I glanced back at him and he gave me a grin before pointing at Bunny. We both knew what he was about to pull. I mouthed, 'No.' but he ignored me.

"Hey, Bunny," Jack stood dangerously on the back edge of the sleigh. "Check out this view." Suddenly, jack flipped off the side. "EEYAAAAGGGGHHH!" his voice rang out.

"North! He uh," was all the panicked and worried Bunny managed to get out. I went and was about to get up and check on Jack, even though I knew he was fine I wanted to make sure. But Bunny let go of my hand and put his arm around my waist, holding me in place. "No you don't!" he yelled at me. Fear lacing his voice. Did he think I'd fall off too or something? Gingerly, bringing me along with him, he peered over the side of the sleigh. Of course, instead of seeing Jack plummeting he lounged on the sleigh's skid. "Aw. You do care," he told Bunny with a knowing smile.

"Oh rack off ya bloody showpony," Bunny scowled at him. Jack climbed back into his seat like nothing happened. Though he did raise a brow at the position I was in. Bunny stopped his frowning long enough to get why Jack was looking at him so curiously. He released me and rubbed the back of his head looking anywhere but right at me.

I noticed Jack grinning and it was his turn to elbow me in the shoulder. "The kangaroo, huh?"

"Oh, shut it," I rolled my eyes and shoved him off me.

North rattled the reins. "Hold on, everyone! I know a shortcut!"

Bunnymund groaned. "I knew we should have taken the tunnels."

North held up a snow globe. "I say Tooth Palace," he told it. An image of Tooth's castle filled the globe. As soon as it did North tossed it in front of the sleigh, and a giant portal opened in the sky."Hyah!" North shouted. The sleigh, along with all of us, was sucked through the vortex.

~*~

The sleigh emerged outside the Tooth Palace. Streaks of black filled the sky around the beautiful, delicate castle.

"What?" North squinted.

On closer look I could see the streaks were Nightmares. Some held golden containers filled with teeth while others held Mini Fairies. The last uncaptured fairies flew past the sleigh, screaming in terror. We were forced to duck as Nightmares flew past us. Sandy made an umbrella out of dreamsand as one Nightmare rammed into it. It disintegrated upon impact and the only traces left were a few handfuls of black sand.

"Whoa!" Bunny shouted.

"They're taking the Mini Fairies!" Jack pointed to a stream of Nightmares chasing a pack of fairies and gulping them down into their blackness. A lone fairy was flying nearby with a big ugly Nightmare at her back. Jack flew up and grabbed her before the Nightmare snatched her. He floated down and sat on the back of the sleigh. "Hey, little Baby Tooth," Jack said. "You okay?" He held her safely but she was shaking and curled up in a ball. She was only able to nod. I gently rubbed her back being mindful of her wings.

North continued on and drove the sleigh through the Tooth Palace. There were pillars as far as the eye could see. Each one was supposed to contain the millions of boxes which held baby teeth. They were empty. Inside the chamber North handed the sleigh reigns to Jack.

"Here," he ordered. "Take over."

"Huh?" Bunny asked.

"Hyah!" Jack yelled, gladly taking control.

North unsheathed his swords and slashed a Nightmare in half. "Yah!" he shouted as the Nightmare split open and three tooth boxes spilled down into the sleigh. The Nightmare broke apart.

"They're stealing the teeth!" Bunny cried. Sandy looked at where the Nightmare had disappeared. The Nightmare had become grains of black sand that were now attaching to one another. Within seconds, a new one was created. The Guardians and I looked up right before Jack was about to plow the sleigh into one of the pillars.

"Jack! Look out!" North shouted.

Jack pulled back on the reigns. "Ahhhh!" The sleigh sideswiped a pillar and then landed hard on a platform. Tooth flew back and forth frantically, directly above us.

"Tooth!" North called out. "Are you alright?"

She continued flying in circles, frustrated and angry. "They took my fairies!" she shrieked. The Guardians either jumped or floated up to the platform as she landed. "And the teeth! All of them! Everything is gone. Everything." Defeated, she fell to her knees and her wings drooped.

The Guardians gathered around her for support. Me and Jack stayed down on the lower platform and looked at the depressing scene. Baby Tooth popped out of my bag and flew over to Tooth.

"Oh, thank goodness! One of you is all right!" Tooth held out her hands for Baby Tooth to land on and she turned her damp eyes to her.

"What a touching reunion," Pitch's voice boomed through the cavernous room. "I have to say, this is very, very exciting." He was standing above all of us with a smug smile. "The big four. All in one place. I'm a little starstruck." His chuckle echoed. "Did you like my show on the Globe, North?" But before North could reply, he said, "Got you all together, didn't it?"

Realizing he's been played North stomped his boot down while letting out a disgusted huff.

"Pitch!" Tooth demanded as she flew over to him. But he disappeared into the shadows before she could reach him. "You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!"

"Or what?" Pitch's voice taunted from nowhere and everywhere. Tooth followed the echo and found him near one of her tooth box columns. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" he mocked before vanishing again.

"Why are you doing this?" North asked. With the sped of a shadow Pitch had moved to the other side of the palace. He slowly traveled to the center of the chamber.

"Maybe I want what you have," he said. "To be believed in. Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds." I noticed out of my peripheral Jack startled a little when Pitch said, "To be believed in."

"Maybe that's where you belong," Bunny suggested.

"Ah, go suck an egg rabbit," Pitch replied. Bunny looked over the side of the platform where he was standing, to see Pitch there, hanging upside down. As Bunny went to get him, Pitch winked and moved away.

"Hang on, is that Jack Frost?" Pitch asked laughing a little. "Since when are you all so chummy?"

"We're not," Jack replied as we both looked around. I spotted him first and grabbed Jack's arm to let him know he was behind us.

"And who's that with you? I haven't seen her before," he added looking at me with those piercing yellow eyes.

"Jackie Frost," I answered. "His big sister." I moved to put myself between him and Jack. Pitch's eyes got a fraction bigger for a second in surprise before his face went back to normal.

"Oh good," he said to us. "A neutral party. Then I'm going to ignore you. But you must be used to that by now."

Bunny sounded pissed. "Pitch! You shadow-sneaking ratbag! Come here!" He leaped after Pitch but once more he disappeared and reappeared elsewhere. Tooth spotted him first. She flew by, grabbed one of Bunny's boomerangs, and then charged the Boogeyman in a rage. "Ahhhhh!"

Before she could reach him, a huge Nightmare appeared in front of him. Tooth shrank back, and Baby Tooth took cover in my bag. Not that I could blame either of them.

"Whoa!" Pitch said to the Nightmare. "Easy girl. Easy." He twirled his fingers through the Nightmare's mane. He held some black sand in his hand as he turned to Sandy. "Look familiar, Sandman?" Pitch asked. "Took me a while to perfect this little trick. Turning dreams into Nightmares," he rubbed the side of the Nightmare's head.

The Guardians all gasped. Pitch chuckled, "Don't be nervous, it only riles them up. They smell fear, you know."

"What fear?" Bunny questioned. "Of you? No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages." He took his boomerang back from Tooth.

I nearly face-palmed. It was common knowledge most kids were still afraid of him. I remembered my own childhood quite well. I slept with my folks or Mema until I was eight. Yes, I am not too proud to admit that. My imagination might be a good thing but it also helped terrify me and keep me up in the middle of the night. It was only when Mema sat me down and really explained things that I stopped being afraid. She said nightmares might seem real but they always go away in the morning. Mema also told me the real Boogeyman wasn't in my closet or under my bed. He was the strange man who wanted to give me candy or ask me to help find his puppy. But I can't sleep without my closet door closed to this day.

Pitch's eyes flashing for a second brought me out of my memories. It was obvious he lived to scare people but he managed a smile in this situation. "The Dark Ages," he reminisced. "Everyone frightened. Miserable. Such happy times for me. Oh, the power I wielded. But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear," he continued. "With your wonder and light! Lifting their hearts and giving them hope." He explained to us. "Meanwhile, everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream. 'Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of. There's no such thing as the Boogeyman.' Well, that's all about to change."

A cracking sound filled the room. We all turned to see beautiful columns crumbling and decomposing. "Oh, look," Pitch clapped his hands. "It's already happening."

"What is?" Jack asked.

"Children are waking up and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came," Pitch answered. "Such a little thing, but to a child…"

"What's going on?" I asked cringing as more columns fell and the palace broke apart right before our eyes.

"They… They don't believe in me anymore," Tooth sadly admitted.

"Didn't they tell you two?" Pitch inquired. "It's great being a Guardian, but there's a catch. If enough kids stop believing in you, everything your friends protect: wonder, hopes, and dreams it all goes away. And little by little, so do they." Jack realized what this meant. Pitch nodded and let out a small laugh. "No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear and darkness and me! It's your turn not to be believed in!"

Bunny was the first to make a move as he threw his boomerangs at Pitch. But Pitch dodged, and started making his escape, flying through the palace on the back of his Nightmare. The Guardians followed his descent. I jumped right after them and I heard Jack follow me.

Bunny tried using eggs that were bombs, but they exploded into empty space. Pitch and his ride vanished in a crevice with a rush of black sand. We all landed on the ground with various 'thuds' and peered around. All we could do was stare at the place where he disappeared.

"He's gone," North stated. His one sentence the only noise breaking the eerie silence of the empty and decaying Tooth Palace.


	8. Little Helpers

Tooth sat down with an empty tooth box in her hands. Baby Tooth came back out of my bag once Pitch was gone and now rested on a broken box nearby. Me and Jack walked over to them and then crouched down beside them.

Bunny, North, and Sandy were a small distance off. "Okay," Bunnymund said, "all right. I admit it. You were right about Pitch."

"This is one time I wish I was wrong," North replied. "But he will pay."

"I'm sorry about the fairies," Jack told her.

"And the teeth," I added. Baby Tooth flew up and sat on my shoulder.

Tooth replied, "You should have seen them. They put up such a fight."

"Why would Pitch take the teeth?" Jack inquired.

"It's not the teeth he wanted," she explained. "It's the memories inside them."

"What do you mean?" I asked as we both stared at her. Tooth got up and led us across the palace lagoon. The water under Jack's feet hardened into ice with each step. I used this ice to follow them across.

"That's why we collect the teeth, Jack, Jackie. They hold the most important memories inside them." She showed us a wall mural. It was a beautiful picture of memories being gathered by fairies or being received by children. "My fairies and I watch over them, and when someone needs to remember what's most important, we help them. We had everyone's here," she looked to Jack. "Yours too."

"My memories?" Jack asked.

"From when you were young," Tooth answered. "Before you became Jack Frost."

Jack shook his head. "But I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost."

"Of course you were. We were all someone before we were chosen," Tooth stated.

"What?" Jack didn't fully comprehend what she was telling him.

"Explains why I have my memories… Up until I ended up near your pond," I offered.

North entered the conversation. "You should have seen Bunny," he chuckled.

"Hey, I told you never to mention that!" Bunny nearly shouted.

I could see Jack struggling to take in this knew information. "That night at the pond... I just… why, I assumed. Are you saying… Are you saying I had a life before that? With a home? And a family?"

"You really don't remember?" she questioned.

"We had nothing to go on that everyone had their memories before they were chosen," I explained. "For all we knew I was out of the norm for remembering my life. But then again I don't recall the Man in the Moon ever choosing me so we could never be sure."

Jack's face went blank. "All these years, and the answers were right here." He looked around the crumbling palace. "If I find my memories, then I'll know why I'm here." The wind lifted Jack off the lagoon and I jumped off the ice back onto solid ground. He was ready to follow Tooth to his storage drawer. "You have to show me. Jackie, we can look at yours too and see how you got here."

"I can't Jack, Jackie," Tooth regrettably said. "Pitch has them."

"Well isn't that just peachy," I stated.

"Then we have to get them back!" he countered.

Right then Tooth lost a few of her feathers. "Oh, no. The children!" she cried. We all looked at the mural and were horrified to see it disintegrating. "We're losing them. We're too late."

"No! No! No such thing as too late," North shouted. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait wait. Idea! Ha!" he pointed one of his swords as he had a eureka moment and it was only inches from Bunny's face. "We will collect the teeth," he gestured to everyone with his swords.

"What?" Tooth was dumfounded.

"We get teeth! Children keep believing in you!" North declared.

"We're talking seven continents," she worried. "Millions of kids."

"Give me break!" North told her. "You know how many toys I deliver in one night?"

"And eggs I hide in one day?" Bunny put in.

North turned to us. "If you help us, we will get your memories."

We looked to Tooth, who agreed to the deal. Sandy gave us a thumbs-up. Bunny merely groaned. Jack turned to North and smiled. "I'm in."

"Let's do this," I said heading for the sleigh.

~*~

Jackie and Jack reached the sleigh first but the others stayed back for an extra moment when they saw a concerned look on Tooth's face.

"What's wrong, Toothy?" North asked.

Sandy made a tooth appear above his head and then an image of Tooth standing on a mountain of teeth. It was his way of saying, 'Don't worry, we got this.'

"I'm not worried about that," she assured him. "It's just, I had everyone's teeth. Ours included, and I remember where everyone's was… But I can't remember collecting Jackie's."

"You collect a ton of teeth every day and night," Bunny said. "You can't remember everyone's. Or oversee every tooth collected."

"But I do remember, Bunny," she was a bit exasperated. "I know I can't possibly hope to see every single tooth that comes through here but I always make it a point to look at everyone's first tooth. But I don't recall Jackie's."

They all glanced over to see Jack messing with the reins on the sleigh. Jackie appeared to scold him because he put them down. Baby Tooth flew back and forth between the two.

"That's weird," Bunny admitted. All of them took their duties seriously. They knew Tooth wouldn't simply have slipped up.

"Yes," North added. "Tooth did not recall having her teeth and I do not think she is on either of my lists."

"Bunny," Tooth said. "Do you remember ever dropping off eggs and seeing her? Or did you ever give her a nice dream, Sandy?"

"I drop off eggs to millions of kids in one day. I can't remember every single one," Bunny defended. "Plus I can't stick around to be sure every ankle-biter is out huntin' for 'em." But he did remember faces and addresses. He couldn't recall seeing Jackie's face before, taking into account she would have been much younger and it would have been years ago. He'd have to figure out where she had lived later to see if he ever visited the address.

"Sandy?" North asked. He shrugged. He gave happy dreams to millions every night. Most of the time he didn't even get the chance to stick around to watch a child enjoy a dream. How could he remember everyone? Especially if a strand of dreamsand did the job, not him directly.

A heavy silence fell over them. In front of them was a girl whom none of them remembered or possibly met, even indirectly, before. It was severely discouraging. Overtly, so since she was such a new addition. Based on her outfit she couldn't have been chosen that long ago. A few years at most… Maybe shorter. That meant she was a child recently, in reference to how long they had all been around.

She smiled as Baby Tooth burrowed into her hair while Jack was lightly nipping at her with icy fingers. Jackie was laughing hysterically.

In front of them was a girl who none of them had possibly 'guarded'. What if North had never given her a toy for Christmas? What if Tooth really didn't have her teeth and memories? Had she never gotten the chance to hunt for Easter eggs? Or go to sleep and have a wonderful dream made for her? Had the Guardians overlooked a child? And what if she had believed?

"Hey!" they were taken out of their thoughts by Jackie calling out to them. Now she sat in the front of the sleigh with the reins in her hands.

"Come on slowpokes!" Jack yelled standing right behind her.

Tooth was the first to recover. She put on her normal cheerful expression. "Coming!" she called. She flew over, along with Sandy. Bunny and North brought up the rear. At that time either the deer decided to act up or Jackie had pulled a little on the reins. Either way, the sleigh shot forward a couple of feet.

"Whoa!" Jack called losing his footing and falling back in the sleigh.

"Hold on fellas!" Jackie cried out trying to calm the reindeer. Baby Tooth flew over to see if Jack was ok.

"Wait!" North yelled to his reindeer.

"Don't bloody leave us here!" Bunny shouted.

They all bolted over. "Are you two alright?" Tooth asked. One thing was for certain. They'd all rather deal with this than the horrific theory they'd just created concerning Jackie Frost.

~*~

A few minutes later.

In Shanghai, China, North shot out of a chimney and raced across the rooftops. "Quickly! Quickly!" he called as Bunny popped up a roof away.

"Here we go, here we go," Bunny chanted.

Jack zipped past him. "Hope to it, rabbit. I'm five teeth ahead!"

"Yeah, right," Bunnymund replied. "Look, I'd tell you to stay out of my way, but, really, what's the point? Because you won't be able to keep up, anyway!"

"Is that a challenge cottontail?" Jack taunted.

"Oh, you don't wanna race a rabbit, mate," Bunny said running even faster. Passing Jack in the process.

"A race?" North called as he popped up between chimneys. "Is it a race? This is going to be epic!"

"Boys," I muttered. I ran across rooftops not far away. Sandy floated at a slower pace nearby while Tooth kept darting around with Baby Tooth struggling to keep up. "Four bicuspids over there!" she pointed left. "An incisor two blocks east! Is that a molar? THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" she called out. I couldn't tell if she was feeling overwhelmed or plain excited. She flitted off the rooftops and straight into a billboard, ironically, advertising toothpaste. "Ow," she groaned rubbing her nose after she'd hit it head first with an audible 'thud'.

Me and Jack leapt to the top of the billboard to check on her. "You okay?" we asked at the same time.

"Fine," she stated. "Sorry. It's been a really long time since I've been out in the field." She flew up in front of us.

"How long is a long time?" Jack asked.

"Four hundred and forty years," she replied. "Give or take." Before we could respond, Tooth noticed a tiny glow under the pillow of a little girl in a nearby room. Without another word, she pointed to it like she was a five year old and it was the last piece of candy in the world, and flew off. Baby Tooth just shrugged as a form of explanation.

~*~

Inside a dimly lit bedroom, Jack was about to snag a tooth when Bunny popped out of a hole in the floor. He chuckled at Jack holding the tooth up. "He he he he." Until Jack shot ice out of his staff at him.

~*~

In the next city, North discovered two teeth under two pillows. "Twins!' He nabbed both. "Yipa!" he said triumphantly as he hurried off.

~*~

At another home, Bunny got five teeth from a sleeping child. "Jackpot!" he whispered. He glanced around the room. Hockey posters lined the walls, and the shelves were loaded with trophies. "Looks like you're a bit of a brumby, hey mate," bunny remarked.

~*~

While all the boys focused on seeing who could get the most teeth I was fixated on a different task. I followed right behind them and left change after they snagged the teeth. I knew the dips would forget to leave gifts. Lucky for me and the kids I had a shitload of coins. Strangely, it consisted mostly of quarters and silver dollars. _Did I forget to go to the bank or something_? And I didn't seem to be running out anytime soon.

Coarse I didn't have to worry about Tooth and Baby Tooth. They were the experts here. But I thought it would be best to give the kids their money now then coming back later and trying to figure out where all the chopper's came from. What if we accidently missed someone? I had to take a second and catch my breath.

Ever since I learned I could run and jump like I could I found I didn't get winded easily anymore. But try following three Guardians and Jack Frost around. Then add on the fact I have to remember all the houses they went to and try to keep up. I'd like to see anyone get a second wind.

I didn't blurt out they weren't leaving gifts for a couple reasons. First, their pride would be destroyed later. Second, I did not want to interfere with the plot more than I already was. Lastly, while I was feeling the burn now I couldn't wait to see their faces later. It was going to be so worth it.

Still, I had no clue how much more of this I could take. It had only been two cities. I slumpt to my knees briefly on a random roof. _If I'm their backup, then who's mine?_

I was about to suck it up and deal when a familiar fluttering caught my attention. An orange butterfly flapped back and forth in front of me. "Sorry, but I don't have any time to waste," I told it. The longer I waited the more teeth those four collected and the further behind I got.

To my amazement it got in my face and that's when I noticed something white. It was holding a tooth?! "W-what?" _How is it carrying that? Butterflies hardly weigh anything so how can it carry a tooth? Even if it was a kids._

It let go of it and I caught the tooth before it hit the roof. Then, the butterfly went and flew into my open bag. "What are you doing?" I asked searching for it. "Get out of there!" A few seconds later I found it. It flew back out of the bag… With a quarter. This was defying every physics and biological rule I had ever learned. Then again, so was everything else around here.

It waited a second before flying off. I followed and found it went to a house with a little girl fast asleep. It dropped the quarter next to her pillow and flew back out the open window. To test my theory I held a quarter in my open palm. The butterfly landed, picked up the quarter, and waited. "Will you follow Sandy and leave quarters for him?" I asked. It did an up and down bob, the equivalent of what I was guessing a nod, before flying off.

"Well whaddya know?" _I have some backup after all._ Color caught my eye. I gasped as I turned and saw several more butterflies. They were all various colors: pink, blue, red, purple, green, etc. "Are you guys here to help too?" I pondered aloud. In answer, they did the bobbing motion like someone would nod. "Alright then," I happily said grabbing change out of my bag. "Let's get to work."

~*~

North stood by a boy's bed. "It's a piece of pie," he said softly. But, as he reached forward, Bunny came up through a hole in the floor. North fell in, effectively trapping the both of them in the confined space.

While the two Guardians competed for the tooth, Sandy slipped in the room and took the prize for himself. "That's my tooth!" North whisper-yelled at the Sandman's back. "Sandy! Sandy!"

I happened to pass the window as Sandy came out. I noticed the goobers stuck in the hole. It was impossible to hide my smile as I snuck in and looked at them. "What are you doing?" I snickered. They stopped struggling and glanced up at me.

"Jackie," North said trying to sound casual. Like he was trapped in a rabbit hole with the Easter Bunny every night. "How can we help you?"

"I think it's the other way around," I answered.

"We're fine, Sheila," Bunnymund said renewing his effort to get free.

"Oh, you're fine? Then you won't mind if I…" I went like I was about to leave them there.

"Wait!" they both yelled as loud as they dared for fear of waking the boy.

"Yes?" I sweetly smiled.

"We, um. May…"North started.

"Be in a bit of a situation," Bunny continued.

"I can see that."

"Then would you mind?" North prompted.

"I'm sorry, what?" I acted all innocent.

"Come on," Bunny groaned. "You know damn well what."

"Bunny!" North scolded, "watch language in front of lady!"

"It's alright," I brushed it off. "But I'm not sure I know what you mean?" They both had looks on their faces like it was gonna kill them to ask me for help. Men. I walked over to the hole. "Be thankful we're on a time crunch." With that I barely laid a finger on them before they both went flying down the tunnel.

~*~

Bunny continued on his mission to sabotage Jack. When Jack came into the next room, Bunny opened a rabbit hole, sending Jack falling through. Bunny took the tooth and disappeared down another hole hoping Jack wouldn't rat on him to his sister.

~*~

Tooth reached under a child's pillow and pulled out a tooth. The tooth was perfect, but there was a mouse attached to the root. Baby Tooth immediately tackled the mouse, knocking him free of Tooth's grasp, and commenced to whopping him down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tooth pulled Baby Tooth back. "Take it easy there, champ. He's one of us. Part of the European division." Tooth turned to the mouse and then asked if he was okay in French, "Ca va?"

He got up and squeaked angrily at the two before throwing his hat down.

~*~

In yet another city Bunny was about to grab his next tooth, but when he reached under the child's pillow he found a note instead. The note showed an arrow pointing toward the window. He followed its direction. There, he found North, peering in the window and holding a kid's tooth grinning. "Huh?" Bunny questioned in surprise as North dashed away laughing.

Bunny was certain the next tooth was his but when he reached the roof and held it up for inspection, he heard the cracking sound of ice and frost. "Crikey!" Bunny began to slip. Tumbling down the slick, tilted roof, he passed Jack in the process. As he did, Jack easily reached out and snagged the tooth.

"Yes!" Jack cheered, but an instant later it was yanked out of his hand. "No!" Sandy waved good-bye as he snagged the tooth for himself.

~*~

The butterflies were an enormous help. They gave quarters and silver dollars to the kids whose teeth the Guardians collected. So I was able to cover them and catch up on my own teeth. The butterflies not following an assigned Guardian or my brother helped me out and soon I had quit the bundle in my red bag. I was not going to shove kids' teeth in my own bag and risk losing them in there. Plus, it was a bit gross if the teeth had blood or gum still on them.

"Thanks guys," I told them as they made another round with a new horde or quarters. I jumped through an unlocked living-room window. It was surprising to find Bunny already there. The off part about the situation was he was messing around with the fireplace. "Sabotage?" I asked.

He jumped up and turned to face me grabbing a boomerang. I held up my hands to show I came in peace. "Crikey! Gave me a fright, Sheila," he said putting his weapon back and returning to his original position.

"Didn't know one could sneak up on a six foot rabbit," I commented leaning on a couch near him.

"Yeah, well I'm a bit busy at the moment," he said.

"So I see." We heard a booming laugh not too far off. He turned to me and made the sign to keep quiet. I smiled and made a zipping motion across my mouth. Bunny patiently waited and listened.

Right as we heard North start to come down the chimney Bunny lit the logs. "Ha-ha. Ho, ho, ho," he chuckled.

"Ahh!" North screamed, scrambling back up the chimney.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" I burst out. The whole thing was too funny. "Nice one," I told him.

"Thanks for not bustin' me," he replied with a smile. Once I calmed down we both stood there in the silence of the home for a few seconds. "Uh…" He scratched one of his ears and I had to stop myself from staring.

"We should get back to the teeth," I offered trying to resolve the awkwardness.

"Yeah." We walked to the window and he actually held it open for me. "Ladies first." I smiled before stepping back out into the night.

~*~

North, Sandy, Jack, and Bunny met up on a rooftop. The competition had been fun, and they each held a large sack filled with teeth. "Wow!" Tooth was impressed. "You guys collect teeth and leave gifts as fast as my fairies." The Guardians and Jack stared at her with blank expressions. Tooth surveyed their panicked looks and asked, "You guys have been leaving gifts, right?"

At first Sandy shook his head 'yes' and then a frown appeared on his face before he nodded 'no'. The rest of them glanced at each other embarrassed.

"It goes to show," I stated stepping out with my own large bag of teeth, "you should never send men to do a woman's job."

"Let me guess," Jack said, "you've been leaving gifts."

"Not only mine but the ones you should've left too," I explained.

"That's great!" Tooth exclaimed flying over to me.

"Why did you not say something?" North wondered.

"You all looked like you were having too much fun," I shrugged. "Plus, I figured you guys would catch yourselves sooner or later. Although, I didn't think it would take this long." They all looked extremely sheepish at that.

"How did you keep up with all of us?" Jack asked curiously.

"Jack, you of all people shouldn't underestimate my skill. But I did have some help." At that moment a butterfly flew over to me with a new tooth. "Thank you very much," I said to it opening my red bag. It dropped the tooth into it and took the quarter I offered before flying off. It circled everyone there once before disappearing into the night.

"The butterflies?!" Jack asked.

"You control butterflies?" North asked.

"Not control, I ask them. It's their choice if they help me or not." Another appeared and the cycle repeated.

"That's wonderful!" Tooth beamed looking at the butterfly as it took off. I felt a little bad when a sad look crossed her face for a second. She must have been thinking about all of her Mini Fairies out there. As soon as it appeared she pushed it aside. "Alright," Tooth spoke up. "We'll keep working while you guys go get change. I'm just thankful we don't have to backtrack." Baby Tooth made a motion like she was breathing a sigh of relief and whipped her forehead.

All my butterflies must've finished up because they all popped up at that moment and hung around us. "Come on girls," I laughed. "Let's show the boys how it's done!"

"Yeah!" Tooth cheered and Baby Tooth did a fist pump.

"Sorry if any of you are guys," I quickly told the butterflies. I had no idea. They either didn't mind or they were all girls because they went about the task with renewed vigor.

~*~

Meanwhile, Jack and the male Guardians stood in line at a coin dispenser. They each took a turn stuffing wrinkled dollar bill they'd gotten from Jackie in the slot, changing cash to coins. Then they got back to work.

North took a tooth and put a couple candy canes in its place. Having run out of change not long ago.

Bunny left three Easter eggs on a child's bed.

Baby tooth stuffed a heavy coin beneath a feather pillow.

Tooth left behind a coin for a sleeping child. As did Jack and Jackie.

Sandy entered a house through the doggy door and was going to leave a quarter but North beat him to it. He chuckled as he plugged in an elaborately lit Christmas tree. In frustration, Sandy chucked the quarter behind him.

~*~

A toddler spotted the Guardians through his bedroom window. Jumping from roof to roof. Sandy spotted him and waved. He was so surprised, he dropped his Sippy cup.

Finally, the Guardians and adoptive siblings climbed back into the sleigh. Nearby, a Nightmare spy watched North take up the reins. As they lifted off into the sky and through a magic portal, the Nightmare vaporized down a street drain. Slipping into the sewers.

~*~

Pitch was inside his darkened lair, standing near a light-covered Globe, exactly like the one in North's Workshop. Hanging on the walls around his head were the stolen boxes of teeth. The teeth glittered in the Globe's light while Mini Fairies stared out, trapped in cages.

He poked a finger at the Globe. He turned to the Nightmare that was slithering into the room. "Why aren't the lights going out?" The Nightmare whinnied an answer. "They're collecting the teeth?" The Mini Fairies began twitting at the news. Their hopeful, tiny, voices echoed throughout the lair.

Pitch swirled to face them. "Oh, pipe down," he demanded. "Or I'll stuff a pillow with you." Scowling, he raised a hand and formed an image of Sandy using nightmare sand. "Fine, have your last hurrah. For tomorrow, all your pathetic scrambling will be for nothing." He crushed Sandy's image with his fist.


	9. What We Can Do

Jamie's awesome toy robot stood watch on his bedside table. It also doubled as his nightlight. As he slept, his tongue rested in the new gap between his teeth.

Tooth fluttered over Jamie's bed with a soft look on her face. Jack stood on one side of the bed, me on the other. Baby Tooth was preoccupied flying after one of my butterflies in lazy circles around the room. _Nice to see they're getting along._

"Left central incisor, knocked out in a freak sledding accident." Tooth raised her eyes to meet outs. "I wonder how that could have happened, Jack? Jackie?"

We laughed, looking at the picture Jamie had drawn and hung on his wall. The one where he was on his sled, midair, pelting his friends with snowballs.

Jack blushed, "Kids, huh?"

"Always losing teeth in weird accidents," I lamely covered.

Tooth smiled at the peacefully dreaming boy. "This was always the part I liked the most-seeing the kids." She paused before adding, "Why did I ever stop doing this?" It was clear how much Tooth loved her job.

"It's a little different up close, huh?" Jack remarked.

Tooth nodded. "Thanks for being here you two. Jack, I wish I had known about your memory. I could've helped you." She glanced over to me and I detected a small hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Yeah, well, look, let's just get you taken care of," Jack reassured her.

"Then it's Pitch's turn," I added.

A sudden noise outside got our attention. We turned to the window.

"Here you are!" North was hauling a large sack over his shoulder. The windowsill groaned and for a second it seemed like he wouldn't be able to squeeze through. But he did. Sandy floated in after him. "What gives, slowpokes?" he asked.

"SHHHH," Tooth whispered a warning seeing as Jamie was still asleep.

"How you feeling, Toothy?" North inquired softly.

"Believed in," was her happy answer.

"Ha-ha!" North gave a little chuckle. "That's what I wanted to hear."

"Oh I see how it is…" Bunny arrived through a rabbit hole. "All working together to make sure the rabbit gets last place."

North held his fingers to his lips. "Shhhhh."

"Don't worry, Bunny," I told him. "You've already got me beat." I held my bag behind me to keep him from seeing it. It was bigger than his and Jack's. No sense in wounding their manly pride even more.

He gave me a look but Jack started before Bunny could say anything.

Jack raised his bulging bag of teeth. "You think I need help to beat a bunny? Check it out, Peter Cottontail."

"You call that a bag of choppers?" Bunny revealed his bag and it was bigger. "Now that's a bag of choppers."

"Gentlemen! Gentlemen!" North interrupted. "This is about Tooth. It's not a competition! But if it was-" he flopped his bag off his shoulder and it proved to be the largest of all- "I win. YEEEEEHAAAAAAW!" North danced around Jamie's room in a Russian jig.

A bright beam of light appeared right on him. We all froze.

"Oh no," he said.

"Santa Claus?" Jamie asked, rubbing his eyes. He slowly peered around the room. Directing the light at each individual as he said their name. "The Easter Bunny? Sandman? The Tooth Fairy?" Jamie got more excited. "I knew you'd come!"

"Surprise!" Tooth said pretending this was all normal. "We came."

"He can see us?" Jack asked.

Jamie continued to scan the room completely amazed. He looked at everyone but only saw an empty space between North and Tooth where Jack was standing. His gaze didn't eve flicker over to where I stood beside Bunny. I wasn't surprised.

"Most of us," Bunny replied.

"Shhh," Tooth warned. "You guys, he's still awake."

"Sandy, knock him out," Bunny suggested. Sandy made a fist and beat it against his other palm. "With the dreamsand, ya gumbies," Bunny shook his head.

With that, we all heard a low growl as Jamie's dog woke up and stood staring at Bunny. Baring it's teeth and growling.

"No." Jamie told her. "Stop! That's the Easter Bunny! What are you doing, Abbey? Down!"

"All right," Bunny instructed. "Nobody panic."

Jack thought it was hilarious. "But that's a greyhound. Do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits?"

"I think it's a pretty safe bet he's never met a rabbit like me," Bunny replied.

"He is a she," I said. Everyone glanced at me for a second before returning to the current situation.

Sandy made a baseball out of dreamsand as Jack rolled his eyes at Bunny. He noticed an alarm clock on the bedside table.

Bunnymund continued, "Six foot one, nerves of steel, master of Tai Chi, and the ancient art of-" Jack couldn't help himself. He leaned over and pressed a button on the clock with his staff. RINNGG!

"Crikey!" Bunny exclaimed as the dog leaped after him. He hopped around the room, the greyhound nipping at his tail.

"Stop! Sit!" Jamie commanded. "Down, girl, down!" The dog continued to chase Bunny over the bed and up the walls as Tooth struggled to turn off the alarm clock.

"Sandy!" cried North, urging him to throw the ball at the dog and end this madness. But before Sandy could throw it, the dog knocked into him. The dreamsand baseball went flying.

Tooth shook her head at the chaos. "This is not proper Tooth Fairy behavior," she scolded.

North ducked when the dreamsand sailed toward him, causing the ball to smack Tooth and Baby Tooth in the face. The sleepy dust knocked them out cold. They both fell to the floor with a 'thud'. Golden little teeth circled their heads.

The ball kept bouncing. Bunny dodged the dog and hid behind me for a moment. "This thing's rabid! Get it off me!" He took off again but didn't get too far as the ball hit him and he instantly fell asleep. Dreaming of carrots. I ducked in time not to be hit but the dog wasn't so lucky. She toppled over a few feet from where Bunny had fallen and began to dream of bunnies.

Next was North, who managed to get out, "Candy canes," before he ate it. Unfortunately, he fell asleep standing up. So he fell backwards and landed on Jamie's bed. The boy went flying like he'd been catapulted.

"Whoaaaa!" he shrieked before Sandy caught him. Sandy dumped a bit of dreamsand on his head, and put him back in bed.

"Whoops," Jack stated taking in his handiwork.

"Nice," I told him looking around. Tooth and Baby Tooth were snoring in a corner. North took up most of Jamie's bed while Bunny snuggled down right next to it. They were so close North and Bunny's dreams began to overlap. This formed carrots with feet and top hats dancing with candy cane canes.

"Oh, I really wish I had a camera right now," Jack snickered.

Sandy and I smiled until we heard a noise at the window. We all turned and saw a large Nightmare darting away.

Jack jumped out the window. "Sandy! Jackie, c'mon," he called. "We can find Pitch."

I shared a look with Sandy and then we turned to gaze at everyone sleeping soundly around the cozy room. "Watch them," I told my butterfly, who'd somehow managed not to get hit with dreamsand or trampled in the melee. "Can I hitch a ride?" I asked Sandy. He nodded, took my hand, and we followed Jack out into the night. My stomach churned thinking about what was about to happen. I gripped Sandy's hand a little tighter. He glanced back at me but kept flying.

~*~

Sophie toddled into her big brother's room while everyone was asleep. She didn't see the butterfly perched on her brother's robot. Instead, she giggled as she tried to reach up and get on her brother's bed. All she succeeded in was opening North's coat and revealing his magical snow globe.

"Pretty!" she exclaimed grabbing it. She saw Bunny and carried it over to him. "Easter Bunny!" she said joyfully. "Hop! Hop! Hop!" It was then a mass of butterflies flew through the open window. Backup had arrived.

Imitating a bunny's bounce, Sophie shook the globe. It revealed a beautiful image of Bunny's Warren. Delighted, she began to take the globe back to her room, oblivious to the little creatures flying above her. But, on the way, she tripped. The globe smashed onto the floor. "Ow," but any pain she may have been in was quickly forgotten as a magical portal opened in front of her.

A warn breeze came from the portal and Sophie leaned forward to check it out. Unbeknownst to her the butterflies followed her in.

The lone butterfly tasked with guarding landed on North's nose in an attempt to wake him. "Whuh-huh?" he woke up an instant too late. By the time North opened his eyes, Sophie and her butterfly bodyguards, were already gone.

~*~

Me, Jack, and Sandy followed the two Nightmares across the rooftops of Burgess.

"Wahoo!" Jack said, riding the wind to catch one of the Nightmares. It flew over a rooftop and Jack followed it. I jumped onto the roof and followed him.

We chased the Nightmare away from a house, just in time to see Sandy wrestling with the other one. The Nightmare may have been strong, but Sandy was stronger. With a blast he sat atop the Nightmare and changed it into golden dreamsand and road the dream, now shaped like a stingray, through the town. Searching for the siblings he'd lost track of in the excitement.

We went after the one that got away. "Haaa!" Jack shouted as the Nightmare turned down the alley and then traveled to another rooftop. I jumped up from my waiting position and cut it off. "I got it!" he blasted frost from his staff, freezing the thing into a streak of solid black mass.

"Sandy!" Jack called. "Sandy, did you see that? Look at this thing." He poked at it with his staff. But it wasn't Sandy who appeared behind him.

"Frost?" Pitch inquired. I leapt over and was in front of my brother in an instant. Jack shot from behind me at Pitch, but he merely dodged the stream of frost. "You know," he said, "for a 'neutral party' you two spend an awful lot of time with those weirdoes. This isn't your fight."

Jack raised his staff and I took a fighting stance. "You made it our fight when you took those teeth," I stated.

Pitch squinted. "Teeth? Why do you care about the teeth?" A noise beside him caused Pitch to turn. Sandy was calmly standing there with a deep set frown. Pitch let out a tiny surprised sound and quickly moved away. "Now this is who I'm looking for-" Before he could finish, Sandy blasted him with dreamsand in the form of two whips. Pitch ducked and then aimed his nightmare sand, in the shape of a scythe, at Sandy. Jack and I had to duck or else we would've lost our heads. Sandy was forced onto a high ledge.

Sandy nearly fell backward but at the last minute, using a wave of dreamsand, he shot back at Pitch, snaring him in his whip, and then threw him off the rooftop. Causing him to hit a parked car, setting off its alarm, and then crashing into the street.

We peered down at Pitch. "Go Sandy," I complemented.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Jack told him.

Pitch shook off the crash, stepping away as I leapt down and Sandy and Jack flew off the roof and into the street. "Okay, easy. You can't blame me for trying, Sandy. You don't know what it's like to be weak and hated. It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams. So I'll tell you what: You can have 'em back," Pitch offered.

Before we could react, a shitload of Nightmares filled the street and stood on the surrounding rooftops.

Jack turned to Sandy. "You take the ones on the left. I'll take the ones one the right?"

"I got tall, dark, and creepy," I motioned to Pitch. No way was I just going to stand aside and let them do all the fighting.

Said Boogeyman, rose from the ground, riding a Nightmare. "Boo!" he ordered. The Nightmares charged us.

Sandy took a couple out with his whips and Jack froze one as they fought back-to-back. One ran right for me and all my years of training kicked in. I jumped up and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of its face. Its entire head broke off and the rest of the body crumbled.

Suddenly, the sound of sleigh bells and reindeer hooves filled the air. North's sleigh zoomed overhead buzzing past us. North was at the wheel but he was snoring, a butterfly perched on his forehead. The sleigh crashed to the ground hard and jerked them awake. North drew his swords while Tooth and Baby Tooth took flight. Bunny startled, a bit confused when he blurted out, "Get out of my Warren." Then realizing where he was, Bunny gathered his boomerangs for battle.

Sandy took hold of Jack's staff as he flew them up into the air as they battled Nightmares. I could see Tooth and Baby Tooth coming to their aid. While Jack knocked Nightmares away with his staff, Tooth used her wings to slice through them.

Like a general at war, Pitch commanded his army of Nightmares to continue the attack. Before he could take flight I charged him. He and his precious Nightmare weren't expecting it when I punched through the horse's head. It vanished and he was left standing there.

"You're not going anywhere," I sneered at him.

"That's where you're wrong, my dear," he countered. He disappeared into the damn shadows while two Nightmares appeared to both sides of me. I managed to kick the leg off one and it broke off to the side. The other clipped my shoulder. That's when I noticed Pitch reappear and hop on another Nightmare. I faced the one that had hit me and now blocked my path. "Out of my way!" I shouted as Pitch flew off. I ignored the pain in my shoulder and bolted straight for the animal. At the last second I veered to the side and elbowed its stomach. I fell through and two seconds later it was gone.

As fast as I could I jumped to a nearby rooftop. Commotion caught my eye and I saw Bunny leap from the sleigh onto the same roof. His boomerangs flew, dissolving every Nightmare in their paths. Including the ones in front of me. "Come on, Sheila!" he called to me. When the sleigh passed by we hopped back in.

"Ha, ha, ha," North cheered slicing Nightmare after Nightmare with his swords. "Come on!"

I wasn't as optimistic. When I glanced up Jack dodged two Nightmares by simply letting himself fall. But a third one knocked the staff out of his hands.

"Jack!" I screamed. I wanted nothing more than to catch him. My feet rocked back and forth and I felt so incredibly useless!

"Aaaaaah!" he yelled plummeting downward. He finally managed to snag it back. Just in time to land on the sleigh's skids.

"You might want to duck," Bunny told him as he flung a boomerang at a Nightmare right behind him. Bunny caught his weapon as it came flying back. He and Jack shared a knowing smirk.

Pitch's Nightmares surrounded Sandy. He valiantly fought them off with his dream whips.

"We gotta help Sandy!" Jack shouted.

"Hyah!" North flicked the reins.

My heart completely dropped. "Hurry, North!" I yelled.

But before we could reach Sandy, Pitch formed his nightmare sand into a bow and arrow. He aimed it at Sandy's back. And then he fired. The arrow hit Sandy between the shoulders and then exploded.

"Noooo!" Jack hollered as he leapt out of the sleigh and flew toward Sandy.

"Jack! Sandy!" I cried at the top of my lungs. They needed me and I couldn't' do a damn thing! The butterfly from earlier flew by the side of my head. I desperately looked to it for some type of answer or solution. Then, in the heat of the chaos and noise, everything seemed to almost stop and it was completely quiet. It was in this calm I heard one word.

_"Jump."_

So I did. I jumped off the sleigh. For a couple of seconds all I felt was the sensation of falling… Then, it stopped. A warm feeling enveloped me right before I shot off like a bat out of hell.

"Jack!" North called after my brother. He then yelled, "Jackie?!" in surprise. Didn't blame him but I had no time to think about how this was possible.

Pitch chuckled as the Nightmares took over Sandy's dreams. Sandy himself, was being enveloped in blackness. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Don't fight the fear, little man," he instructed Sandy.

North pulled the sleigh around for a rescue mission and Tooth started to fly toward them… But they were surrounded and blocked by Nightmares. "Hurry, hurry, Jack! Jackie!" North shouted to us.

Sandy's dreamsand was almost completely consumed. "I'd say sweet dreams, but there aren't any left," Pitch taunted.

Jack struggled to reach Sandy and I fought to reach him. _Fight him Sandy! Fight him!_

A few seconds later, Sandy held his head high, closed his eyes… And was gone. "Sandy," North moaned as all the golden sand was consumed. Pitch clapped his hands in joy.

"No…NOOOOO!" Jack yelled charging Pitch.

Tears stung my eyes as I kept going. "Sandy… JACK!" I screamed. I'd failed to protect Sandy. But I'd be damned if I failed to protect my brother too.

Pitch turned and directed his horde of Nightmares at us. I reached Jack a second before the wave of Nightmares overtook us.

~*~

The Guardians watched in horror as the siblings were consumed by the same darkness that had robbed them of Sandy.

Suddenly, a shock ricoched through the air. White and blue light broke out of the darkness. A moment later it was joined by an equally bright purple light. But it didn't remain purple. No, this light switched rapidly to blue, green, red, orange… And eventually back to purple. It kept alternating, being every color imaginable.

As the surge grew they all saw the white and blue light coming from Jack and his staff. The changing light emanated off of Jackie. This energy seemed to crack and flicker like lightning would. It shot out through the Nightmares. The half that came into contact with Jack's power froze and turned to solid ice. The other part was affected by Jackie's ability. Her light seemed to actually engulf the blackness and then altered it. It appeared to switch the blackness to the same color it currently was, effectively destroying the Nightmares in its wake.

Both lights flew right toward Pitch. Shaking and ripping his foundation apart. When it reached him, Jack's portion completely froze into what looked like giant sharp fragments. Then it exploded and imploded at the same time. It broke apart into little snowflakes and black ash. Jackie's portion shown even brighter and did what could only be described as a mini supernova. All the light disappeared for a second before reappearing in an explosion of color. It practically blinded everyone there. Much like Jack's, small particles remained after the explosion. Hers consisted of small beams of different colored lights. Each resembled the shape of a butterfly…

Pitch was thrown a good distance by surprise. "Aaahhhh!"

Their effort took up all of the sibling's energy. They both started falling downward. Jackie holding her brother's hand.

"Jack! Jackie!" Tooth quickly flew over and managed to catch them. She floated them down to the sleigh and gently laid them on the seats.

"Jack, Jackie, how did you do that?" she asked.

"I didn't know I could," Jack groggily replied.

I caught my breath before answering. "All I know is… I had to protect my brother."

As the sleigh zipped off into the night, Pitch stood up and gazed around at where he'd crash-landed. Nightmares gathered around him. Smiling, he watched the sleigh slip into a snow globe portal. The Frosts were proving to be worthy opponents.

"Finally!" he dusted himself off. "They know how to have a little fun!" He waved at the sleigh as it took Jack and Jackie off to the North Pole. Pitch was looking forward to the next time they would meet.


	10. Hope is a Lie

Back in the Globe room at the North Pole, the Guardians held ceremony for Sandy. Candles surrounded his empty spot on the floor. Tooth, North, and Bunny held hands while the yetis bowed their heads. The elves bowed at different times, creating a symphony as the bells on their hats echoed throughout the Workshop. Me and Jack looked on from our perches on a nearby windowsill. Jack used his fingers to draw a picture of Sandy on the frosted window. I sat there watching with my butterfly resting on my knee. We both let out heavy sighs.

North walked over to us. "Are you both alright?"

"I just wish I could've done something," Jack replied. I nodded and hid the tears forming in my eyes.

"Done something?" he asked. "Jack, Jackie, you two stood up to Pitch. You saved us."

Jack pinched his lips together. "But Sandy would-"

North interrupted him. "Would be proud of what you both did." It was Jack's turn to nod as he sighed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Both of them looked at me.

"For what?" Jack inquired.

"If I'd known I could fly…"

"Eh, eh, eh," North tsked. "There is no changing past. We must press on to future!"

"B-but."

"No buts!" We got off our perches and North patted my shoulder. "It is not your fault this happened. None of us could have seen this coming. If blame lie with anyone it is Pitch. Not you Jackie…"

I knew he was doing his best to comfort me. But the whole, 'None of us could have seen this coming,' thing wasn't helping. The fact is I had seen this coming. I knew and I still said nothing. Pitch may have caused this but I could've at least warned Sandy. I let one of my friends be whipped out of existence and I'll have to live with that for the rest of my life.

As if sensing he was losing the battle North switched tactics. "I don't know who you were in your past lives but in this life you both are Guardians." He touched both our shoulders.

"But how can I know who I am until I know who I was?" Jack questioned.

"And how can I be a Guardian if Man in the Moon never chose me?" I put in. _What if I was one giant mistake?_

"You will find your answers," North answered. "I feel it in my belly." He patted his belly like it was the most absolute knowledge in the world. We allowed North to lead us back toward the Globe.

"Look how fast they're going out." Tooth pointed at the tiny lights across the continents. Multitudes flickered and went out.

"It's fear," Jack said floating up to see better. I looked at my butterfly and concentrated. I tried to remember what it felt like to fly on my own. That warm fuzzy feeling returned and I found myself slowly rising off the floor. I half-smiled but it quickly vanished as I watched lights going out on the other side of the Globe. "He's tipped the balance," Jack continued.

Bunny wasn't about to let all the lights go out. "Hey, buck up, ya sad-sacks! We can still turn this around. Easter's tomorrow and I need your help. I say we pull out all the stops, and we get those little lights flickering again!"

We walked out of the Globe room and got on the elevator. "Bunny is right," North admitted. "As much as it pains me to say, old friend, this time Easter is more important than Christmas!"

Bunny was surprised and happy as we got off the elevator. "Hey! Did everyone hear that?" he asked.

"We must hurry to the Warren," North stated. "Everyone, to the sleigh!"

Bunnymund got ahead and blocked him. "Oh no, mate," he said. "My Warren, my rules. Buckle up." With a heavy tap on the floor, Bunny opened a rabbit hole, and our entire group fell through the floor.

"Shostakovich!" cried North.

~*~

I have to say the ride was fun. North, the two yetis, and one elf kinda just kept tumbling. Tooth and Baby Tooth were doing the same, albeit a little more gracefully. Bunny ran ahead of all of us. Meanwhile, Jack simply road through on his staff. My instincts must've kicked in because instead of falling I flew through.

We all landed, in various ways, just outside the entrance to the Warren. I would've been fine if the elf hadn't jettisoned forward and clonked me right in the center of my back. I flew forward before I could catch myself and prepared to face plant. But the impact never came.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to see two furry arms wrapped around my waist. Bunny pulled me up and repositioned me so his hands were holding me up behind my back but I felt my feet lightly touch the ground.

"You alright there, Sheila?" he asked. "Could've been a helluva tumble."

"I'm good," I smiled up at him. "I was lucky enough to be caught by a six foot tall bunny. He's incredibly fast, agile, and carries around impressive boomerangs. Maybe you've heard of him?" I was a bit surprised when he gave me a gentle smile in return.

"Buckle up," North broke the moment. "Is very funny."

Bunny set me back down on my own feet as everyone else got up. "Welcome to the Warren," he greeted. Two of his large moss covered Sentinel eggs came and stood by him. It was so much more gorgeous here than could be conveyed on a theater screen. Lush, green meadows as far as I could see. Rocks dotted the area along with various colorful flowers. Streams of every color imaginable ran in all different directions and glittered.

Suddenly, Bunnymund turned away from us. His ears raised and twitched and he sniffed the air. "Something's up."

A faint noise came from one of his egg tunnels. Little white eggs were rushing out of the passageway. Bunny pulled out his boomerangs, North drew his swords, and Jack held tightly to his staff. Everyone got ready for battle. The Sentinel egg s' faces turned from 'happy' to 'angry'. I was the only one who held back a bit. I knew who it was but I had no clue why my butterfly seemed so excited.

They all charged forward with a battle cry. Only to stop dead when they saw the young blonde girl holding three white eggs.

"Sophie?" Jack asked aloud. Quickly, everyone hid their weapons and smiled.

Said little girl gazed at the Guardians curiously before dropping the eggs. "Elf, elf, elf!" she giggled chasing after the creature.

"So this is where ya'll have been," I told the butterflies. They'd flown in surrounding Sophie like they were guarding her. Upon seeing me and the one who'd stayed with me they flew over. They surrounded me and I laughed as a couple tugged my hair. The one who hadn't disappeared circled the others and they genially looked happy to see us.

"What Is SHE doing here?" Bunny asked, horrified.

North felt around in his coat to discover his pocket was empty. "Uh, snow globe?"

"Crikey!" Bunny exclaimed. "Somebody do something!"

"Don't look at me," Jack said. "I'm invisible remember."

"I'm in the same boat as him," I stated as a yellow butterfly landed on my nose.

At this point, Sophie had managed to catch the elf, and was dragging him through the grass by the bell on the top of his hat. "Elf, elf, elf…" she laughed.

"Don't worry, Bunny." Tooth flew over to Sophie. "I bet she's a fairy fan. It's ok, little one."

"Pretty," Sophie gushed gazing at Tooth.

"Awwww," Tooth blushed. "You know what, I've got something for you. Here it is." She pulled out a handful of teeth. "Look at all the pretty teeth with a little blood and gum on them." Sophie screamed in Tooth's face and ran away.

Jack and I shook our heads. "Blood and gums?" he spoke up. "When was the last time you guys actually hung out with kids?" He floated ontop of one of the Sentinel eggs. I stood nearby and formed an idea. Sophie got over her scare quickly and soon poked her head in the Sentinel egg's mouth and said, "Peekaboo!"

"We are very busy bringing joy to children," North explained. Bunny knelt down and rounded up a few of his startled eggs. I set my butterflies into motion. They all swept toward the little girl and purposefully got in her line of sight. Sophie squealed in delight as a blue one landed on her face. She soon became entranced by the pink one and started following it. Only to be distracted by a red one and chased it. Sophie laughed happily as she chased them around. All of the Guardians noticed her joy. "We don't have time for… children." All of them were clearly embarrassed.

Jack formed a snowflake in his hand. "If one little kid can ruin Easter then were in worse shape than I thought." He blew a slight wind behind it, and the flake floated toward Sophie. When she tried to grab it, Jack made a little more wind and began a game of chase. The snowflake blew toward Bunny while Sophie, followed it, shouting. "Wheee! Wheee, wheee, wheee!"

The flake landed on Bunny's nose and a magical blue shown on his face. He looked down at Sophie, and smiled. "You wanna paint some eggs?" he asked her.

"Okay!" she answered brightly.

"Come on, then!" Bunny replied.

~*~

White eggs popped out of flowers as they bloomed. Their tiny legs carried them on one distinct path. North, Jack, and I looked on to see thousands and thousands of white eggs marching toward us. All of which needed to be painted. "Rimsky Korsakov!" North exclaimed. "That's a lot of eggs!"

"Uh, how much time do we have?" Jack asked sitting upon his staff.

But Bunny was busy having too much fun. "Whooooo-hoooo!" He hopped along the meadow with Sophie on his back. "Wheee!" she cried in delight. They passed by rows and rows of flowers. As they did so spray came out in various colors. Each color splashed on a different egg and instantly spray-painted it. Everywhere Bunnymund stepped, flowers bloomed beneath his feet. The entire valley glittered like a rainbow.

"All right troops, it's time to push back," Bunny commanded. North stepped on various rocks watching the lines of marching eggs beneath him. A dozen lifted Sophie up and were giving her a ride. She laughed and passed right under North as he smiled and waved at her. "That means eggs everywhere! Heaps of you in every high-rise, farmhouse, and trailer park! In tennis shoes and cereal bowls. There will be bathtubs filled with my beautiful googies!"

I was having so much fun… But I kept thinking about how Easter was going to be ruined and the eggs smashed. Maybe I could stop Jack? But would that mess things up? I had to think about the big picture. In my mind, I knew if I didn't intervene then everything would be ok. Sandy would come back and everyone would believe again… Right? If I stepped in now and Easter isn't ruined… But what if I could stop it from happening? _Boy, I'm getting a headache._

~*~

Bunny saw everyone was having a good time. Until he glanced over at Jackie. She sat on a moss covered rock. Her back was to him but he could see her shoulders were hunched over. A few of her butterflies flew around her in circles. The rest were either off somewhere else or playing with Sophie.

He hopped over. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

For a second she appeared startled and scrambled for an answer. "Uh… Nothing! I was just watching the eggs being painted." It was a lame excuse and they both knew it.

"Chin up, Sheila." He made sure she was facing him. "Easter's gonna work out. No, it'll be spectacular!"

"Course it will," she commented. Jackie put on a brave face but her eyes conveyed her underlying sadness.

"Come on," he gently took her hand and pulled her off the rock. She followed him as they made their way to some newly painted eggs. He handed her a brush as they sat down next to one of the glittering rivers. "Now, as they come down just add your own personal touch."

"Really? Like what?"

"Whatever you want," Bunny replied picking up an egg. "Just have fun." With that a soft smile returned to her face as she got to work.

~*~

Jack had been worried about his sister. Even in the amazing Warren she seemed uncharacteristically down. He was going to say something but it looked like the rabbit beat him to it. Jack watched as Bunny led Jackie down to one of the streams and they started painting eggs together. She was laughing and smiling as she showed Bunny a pink egg with a glittering purple butterfly on it. Bunnymund smiled and said something. Whatever it was had Jackie practically beaming as she set the egg down and got to work on another.

~*~

Not too far away North's elf pushed one of the eggs into the stream. He must've thought it was funny because he stuck his tongue out and did a small victory dance. Baby Tooth watched this on one side of him and a purple butterfly on the other. But then he found himself on the opposing end. He couldn't get away fast enough as the eggs rushed toward him, and they all splashed down into the colored stream below to be painted and decorated for their big show at Easter tomorrow. The eggs emerged from the stream in every color and pattern imaginable (as did the unlucky elf.)

A stray egg wandered off the path and ended up in a whirlpool. North fished it out, turning it around in the sunlight. The eggs miniature legs kicked and it had a strange spiral pattern on it.

"Okay," North said. "That's a little strange."

"Naw, mate," Bunny explained a couple feet away. I stood next to him and carefully took the egg from North. Both our arms were full and a few eggs stood on our shoulders. My butterflies fluttered around us. "That's adorable."

~*~

Sophie led the colored eggs as they marched around Bunny. "There will be springtime!" he encouraged. "On every continent! And I'm bringing hope with me."

Meanwhile, the yetis sprinkled glitter on some eggs, which then hopped down into different tunnels to be decorated with stripes.

Another yeti was hand painting some eggs red when Bunny hopped by. "Too Christmassy, mate. Paint 'em blue," he instructed.

The yeti exclaimed something in his language and slumped over. I flew by but stopped and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Girls!" I called. "Can you give him some help?" My butterflies quickly flew over and went to pick up the eggs to repaint them.

~*~

Sophie and Bunny began to play again. "Oh, what's that over there?" Bunny asked her. Sophie searched through the grass and found a decorated egg. She happily showed it to Bunny. "Aw, that's a beauty!" he told her.

"Pretty," Sophie agreed. A few feet off Jackie flew some of the decorated eggs to the rest of them. She glanced over and flashed him a smile. He was sure she would've waved if her hands hadn't been full. Her butterflies followed close behind, each carrying their own egg.

"Yeah… Pretty." Realizing what he'd said he shook his head as if to clear it. Then he leaned down and took Sophie's hand. "Now, all we gotta do is get him and his little mates through the tunnels to the top." He led her to where the larger tunnels leading off to each continent intersected. "And we'll have ourselves Easter."

~*~

Soon all of the eggs were ready, decorated and gathered at the tunnels for their big moment up top.

"Not bad," Jack said walking over to where Bunny and Sophie sat.

"Not bad yourself," Bunny replied.

"Look," Jack began, "I'm sorry about that whole kangaroo thing."

"It's the accent, isn't it?" Bunnymund asked him.

Sophie lay in Bunny's arms and let out a tired sigh. They gazed over the multitude of eggs as they continued their march. "Sorry for calling you an oversized puffball," I apologized joining them. "And for saying I could take you."

"No harm done," he assured. "Now I know better than to tick you off." All three of us let out a small laugh. North and Tooth came walked over. We all saw Sophie was fast asleep. "Ah, poor little ankle biter. Look at her, all tuckered out," Bunny said.

"I love her," Tooth cooed. "But I think it's time to get her home." Bunny handed her to Tooth.

"How about I take her home?" Jack suggested.

Tooth, looked concerned. "Jack, no! Pitch is still out there-"

Jack cut her off. "And no match for this," he said showing off his staff.

"Which is why we need you here. With us," Bunny stated.

"Trust me. I'll be quick as a bunny," Jack countered.

"And I'll make sure he doesn't get sidetracked," I offered.

"We should have one of you here," North said.

"You guys know me," I replied. I really needed to go with Jack. "I'm the practical one."

"Don't you trust Jackie too?" Jack asked taking Sophie from Tooth.

"We do," Tooth assured.

"We trust both of you," North stated.

"If it'll make you feel better… Girls!" I called and all of my butterflies flew in front of me. "Stay here and keep an eye on everything." Bunny still looked unsure. I couldn't tell him everything was going to be fine. Instead, I settled for what I hoped wasn't going to be a lie. "We'll be back in no time."

~*~

Back in Burgess, Jack laid Sophie down into her bed. Baby Tooth had come with us since all my butterflies were busy. It took a while, and some help from me, but we finally got Sophie to release her grip on him. When she did she rolled over and then fell off the side of her bed onto the floor. We all gave each other looks of 'oh shit'.

"Sophie?" her mother called from the hallway. "Is that you?"

I placed a blanket over her and Jack added a stuffed pig. We left her comfortably snoozing on the rug. Then we hurried out the window, like her mom could see us anyway.

"We should get back," Jack started when suddenly a voice called out.

"Jack!" It was a memory calling, loud and clear. Jack looked to the forest near Jamie's house and felt the memory tug at him. "Jack," the voice of Jack's real sister rang out.

"Whoa, wait," I told him grabbing his hand. "I don't like this."

"Jack."

"T-that voice. I know that voice," he said. He ignored me and took off toward the sound. Baby Tooth and me flew after.

"Jack." Following the voice, we sprinted through the trees until we reached a clearing. In the center of the meadow was a child's old bed. It was broken and rotten.

"Come on, Jack. We promised and this can't lead to anything good," I attempted to convince him, grabbing his hand again. Baby Tooth shivered and pulled on Jack's hoodie to try and drag him out of the forest.

"Don't worry," he reassured us breaking our grips. "There's still time."

Baby Tooth looked to me with desperation in her eyes. "I know," I regrettably told her. "But I can't leave him. He's my brother."

Jack started whacking the bed with his staff. It broke away to reveal a dark, deep hole in the ground. The voice called Jack's name once again.

"You with me?" he asked looking to me.

"Always." He grabbed my hand and we jumped in. Baby Tooth poking her little head out of my bag.

~*~

We followed the tunnels into a huge underground cavern. Every step of the way Baby Tooth, who had come out of my bag, tugged on Jack's jacket, trying to get him to come back with her.

"Ok, we came, we saw. Now let's leave," I tried stopping.

"Come on! I have to find out what that is," he explained. He practically dragged us along behind him.

As we continued further, it wasn't hard to see we were in Pitch's lair. Tooth's Mini Fairies were trapped in cages, chirping and begging us to rescue them. The floor was covered in the boxes of stolen teeth, stacked like pirate treasure.

We flew over to one of the cages. "Shhhhh!" Jack told them. "Keep it down." We looked for a way to open it. "I'm gonna get you out of here, just as soon as I-"

The voice from his memory cut into his sentence. "Jack… Jack…"

I was tempted to shout back, 'Shut up', but it wouldn't do any good. Jack shook his head to clear it. "As I can."

"Jack…"

The voice seemed to come bellow us in the mounds of stolen boxes. Jack dropped to his knees, searching through the pile. Ignoring the insistent chirping from the Mini Fairies and Baby Tooth. She looked to me in worry.

"Jackie! Help me!" he called.

"Dammit!" I yelled letting go and falling to search the piles with him. I knew his memories weren't here. And I couldn't drown out the sounds of the Mini Fairies above me. Or ignore Baby Tooth tugging at my hair.

"Looking for something?" We looked up to see Pitch's shadow on a wall. Jack used his staff to freeze the spot but Pitch had already moved. His shadow shifted around the walls, then disappeared into a narrow, cramped hallway. Baby Tooth flew into my bag and I hugged it to my chest as I flew after Jack.

Pitch cackled with laughter. "Don't be afraid," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you two." We faced him on a bridge like structure.

"Afraid?" Jack countered. "We're not afraid of you."

"Creeped out," I added. "But not afraid."

"Maybe not," Pitch admitted. "But you are afraid of something."

"You think so, huh?" Jack asked as we moved closer.

"I know so. It's the one thing I always know." He stepped into the light to face us. "People's greatest fears. Yours," he indicated to Jack, "is that no one will ever believe in you." I saw a hint of panic in Jack's face.

"Don't listen to him, Jack!" I screamed as we were suddenly engulfed in darkness. "JACK!" I cried.

"JACKIE!" I heard briefly before there was nothing. I felt myself continue to fall through utter darkness before I hit, what I was assuming to be a floor, fairly hard. It knocked the wind out of me. I went to check my bag to see if Baby Tooth was ok… But my bag was gone!

"BABY TOOTH!" I yelled as loud as I could. All that greeted me was silence. I walked forward a couple steps and kept my arms out in front of me. My eyes couldn't adjust to the sheer blackness. "JACK!"

"They can't hear you," Pitch's voice rang around me. It startled me a bit but a second later I composed myself and chose to ignore him. Step by step, I kept moving forward. "Not answering me won't help you." I could've sworn he was right behind me but I fought the urge to turn and check.

"I don't' see how us conversing would do me any good." Just then I seemed to turn a corner and it lightened enough for me to see.

He stood ten feet in front of me with a smug look on his face. "See? We can be civil about this."

I raised a brow at him and kept walking. "In that case, would you mind handing over my brother, bag, and Baby Tooth?"

"Afraid I can't do that." His shadow followed me.

"I knew it."

"Oh really?" he chuckled and another shadow consumed me. I popped out in another corridor where the ending couldn't be seen. I sighed and began walking. Panicking wouldn't get me out of here or help anyone. It's probably what he wanted. Like with Jack.

"Really," I deadpanned.

"You know what I don't understand?" he kept on.

"What?" I held my tongue from adding in how he could really use some wallpaper. He currently held all the cards.

"I know everyone's fear. Almost as if they're an open book waiting to be read."

Didn't he kinda say this earlier? "Ok."

"The fact is… I can't read you," he stated.

"Bummer." I fell into another shadow and landed at the top of a staircase. _Gettin' tired of this funhouse crap._

"It is almost like you're encrypted. But don't fret, I'll decipher you soon enough."

_Does he realize how incredibly perverted that sounds? Ew. I can't handle this right now._ "Can't wait."

"I've already managed to piece together a few interesting bits already." He seemed to dramatically pause before continuing. "You seem incredibly attached to Jack Frost. But why? If you are siblings you can't be related by blood." _Did he figure that out on his own?_ "Does it have something to do with your name?"

I finally reached the end of the stairs and continued onto a bridge similar to the one earlier. Not twenty feet in front of me stood the Boogeyman. "If it is, then why do I feel so much guilt behind it?" He started walking toward me but I stood my ground. "For someone who normally acts so happy why do I detect so much sadness?" I didn't answer. "Bravo for the performance. None of the others suspect a thing." Ten feet. "I recognize this level of despair. Either you've lost something you can never retrieve… Or you're hiding something important." He finally stopped five feet away.

"Does your brother know? He doesn't, does he?" He smirked. "What's so critical you can't even tell your only family?" As if I was going to blurt it out. Seeing he wasn't going to get a response he kept on. "Does it have something to do with your teeth? Jack is searching for his…" He walked around me like a cat stalking it prey. I followed him. No way was I letting him out of my sight again. "But I couldn't find yours anywhere. Now why is that?" Only response I gave him was a shrug. I had no freakin' clue. "Don't worry, I'll discover it soon enough." He appeared to pull my bag out of nowhere. I wasn't about to play cat-and-mouse but he simply threw it to me. Not surprisingly, Baby Tooth was gone when I checked.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

"I have a feeling you'll see her soon," he taunted like he knew something I didn't.

"Then where's my brother?"

All I got in return was a knowing look. That pissed me off. I was about to storm past him when I finally got an answer. "Shouldn't the question be what has he done? Or better yet, what is it you both failed to do?"

Instantly, I knew what he was referring to. My fists clenched as my anger made me see red. I noticed the room got considerably lighter. Pitch's eyes got a tad bigger before returning to normal. I happened to glance down and a light was pouring out of my closed fist. It flickered various colors as I watched it.

"You know," I spoke up, anger lacing my voice. "I'll find my own way out." With that, I opened my fist and let out all of my rage and frustration. I aimed it all at Pitch. The light seemed to snake around the room, engulfing shadows as it did.

Pitch frowned before morphing into one of the last shadows. I felt the bridge shack and it suddenly gave way beneath me. "Until next time, Jackie Frost," Pitch's voice rang out.

When I landed I did a shoulder roll, sprung up, and ran forward. The light from my hand illuminated a path for me. Then, I felt a lung forward as another shadow engulfed me in its depths.

~*~

I fell forward as I landed in an egg tunnel right as Jack was charging. "Whoa! It's me!" I said.

"Jackie?" he asked.

"Yeah, are you ok?" He nodded and I noticed his tooth box in his hand.

"Baby Tooth!" he cried out remembering her. I shook my head and felt like I was gonna heave. How was I going to explain this to Tooth? We found our path blocked by a Sentinel egg directly behind me. Ahead of us was something I'd hoped to never have to see. Thousands of colored eggs were crushed or smashed. My hands flew up to cover my mouth in horror and so I didn't lose it.

"Happy Easter," Pitch's voice taunted.

"No…" Jack said breathlessly.


	11. Memories

We raced down the tunnel and flew off to find everyone. Perhaps it was luck or Pitch's doing but we didn't have to go far. I was the one who spotted Bunny first. He was hiding in some bushes, watching an Easter hunt, in what I deduced was England by everyone's accent. The kids were meandering about a garden with disappointment in their eyes. The sight nearly broke my heart.

"There aren't any eggs," a boy said.

"There aren't any here," another added.

"I give up," a girl stated.

"He didn't come."

"I don't understand," their tiny voices blurred together.

"Maybe he just hid them really well this year," a girl on a picnic table suggested.

Bunny hopped out and then scampered across the grass. "Kids! Oi!"

A boy gave up. "I checked everywhere," he reported. "There's nothing."

"Yes, there is! There is!" Bunny called out right in front of them. He held out an egg. "I mean, these aren't my best-lookin' googies, but they'll do in a pinch. This one here isn't bad." I focused on the egg and saw it was pink with a purple butterfly on the front. _He saved it?_

"I can't believe it," the girl said hoping off the table.

"Eh, I know," Bunny looked down sadly at the eggs in his basket.

"There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny," the girl depressingly stated. My heart completely sank.

"What?" Bunny cleared his ears.

The children began walking out of the park. Bunny stood in front of them in complete shock. "No! Wrong! Not-not true. I'm right in front of ya, mate." A boy passed through him as if he were vapor and continued down the path. Bunnymund had the same look on his face I felt every time someone walked through me.

"Let's get out of here," a boy said.

"They don't see me." Bunny's shoulders and ears drooped. "They don't see me." We hung back as Tooth flew over to comfort him.

"Jack! Jackie! Where were you two?" North came up behind us. His red coat was stained and tattered. "The Nightmares attacked the tunnels. They smashed every egg, crushed every basket. Nothing made it to the surface."

I didn't see any of my butterflies and my heart began to race. "North? Where are my butterflies?" They hadn't been able to get one egg out?

He glanced at the ground ashamed. "They… They were all taken by the Nightmares, Jackie." His gaze came back up to ours. "But they tried. You would have been proud of them."

"I already am," I felt my throat prickle and tears stung my eyes. Jack put a hand on my shoulder and I leaned against him for support. I'd been so stupid. Yes, I really thought I'd be right back but… I left butterflies to defend everyone. What could they have possibly done? Maybe they tried to carry eggs out but… They couldn't fight Nightmares. Hell, they couldn't even escape weighed down like that. Now they were all captured like Tooth's fairies. _All because of me._

"Jack! Jackie!" Tooth flew over to us. I saw she lost a few more of her feathers. "Jackie, I am so sorry," she began, but stopped when she spotted the box in Jack's hand. "Huh? Where'd you get that?"

"I was… it's…" Jack stumbled over his words.

"Where's Baby Tooth? Jackie?" she desperately looked to me. All I could do was shake my head and try to figure out how to talk without breaking down. I'm not a crier by any means but this was too much. "Oh, Jack, Jackie, what have you done?" She backed away in horror.

"That is why you weren't here?" North asked. "You were with Pitch?"

"No, listen, listen… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen," Jack attempted to explain.

"He ambushed us," I clarified. Well, I was partially correct.

"They have to go," Bunny hoped over. The sickening part was he said it without any hesitation.

We both looked at him. Jack was stunned and I was mortified. _This can't be happening._ "What?" Jack asked.

"We should never have trusted you!" Bunny appeared heartbroken and angry because he went like he was about to hit Jack before he stopped himself at the last second. I pulled Jack back and got in between them. "Easter is new beginnings, new life," he explained. "Easter's about hope," he groaned. "And now it's gone." His green eyes reflected pain and his ears dropped.

"Wait, Bunny…" I went to comfort him. Perhaps I could explain everything and it would be alright. They didn't have to give up. Hope was still out there.

"And you," he stared at me. "I thought you of all people would understand." If possible his ears fell even further. "We needed you. I needed you to help protect the eggs. Instead, you ran off with him."

"He's my brother," I countered.

"Yeah, well look where it's got ya, Sheila. All your little butterfly friends are gone and no one believes in ya. As far as I'm concerned this is as much your fault as his."

He turned his back to me and all I could do was stand there. Yes, they were all hurting but it wasn't all our fault. Pitch started this cluster, not us. And if they wanted to be pissed at someone I'll admit I deserved it. For knowing this was coming and failing to stop any of it. But they had no right to be mad at Jack. He was confused, lonely, and lost.

I glanced over at him as he turned to look at Tooth and North. Both turned away from us. It was exactly as Pitch had warned him. The Guardians didn't need him. They didn't want him around anymore. He looked to me. Uncertainty in his blue eyes, like I'd leave him too. I sucked up the lump in my throat and latched onto his hand. Without words I relayed to him he'd always have me. And I would never let go.

Reaching into his pocket, Jack pulled out the little Russian doll North had given us. We stared at it for a long moment, then let the doll fall to the ground. Jack was gonna take off but I stopped him about ten feet in the air.

"Give me a sec," I nearly whispered summoning up my nerve. Jack hovered nearby as I gazed at the Guardians. None of them even glanced my way. "You guys may be Guardians," I told them. "But you're not perfect either. If you're going to blame someone then point fingers at the right people. So from now on leave my brother out of your bullshit." Anger was replacing my hurt and frustration. I gladly let it. "You guys weren't the only ones to lose something, or someone, important." With that, I turned, flew up to Jack, and joined him. We created a big gust of wind as we departed.

~*~

Back in Burgess, it was already late afternoon and Jamie stood on a ladder, still searching for Easter eggs in the rain gutters around his house. As he looked over the roof, the ladder began to topple. "Whoaaa, whoa, whoa, aahhh!" he shrieked as the ladder tipped over. He grabbed the gutter for support, but it broke lose, and Jamie crashed down into a mound of snow.

The so called 'egg' turned out to be an old dirty tennis ball, which rolled by him. Jamie picked himself up like it was nothing. "Let's check the park again," Jamie suggested.

Caleb was annoyed. "Really?"

"For what, the Easter Bunny?" Claude added.

"Guys, I told you," Jamie exclaimed. "I saw him! He's way bigger than I thought, and he's got these cool boomerang things-"

"Grow up," Caleb remarked.

"Ah, man, seriously?" Claude rolled his eyes.

Jamie couldn't believe what he was hearing. All of his friends looked at the ground. They appeared exhausted and listless. "What's happened to you guys?"

"It was a dream," Caleb explained. "You should be happy you still get dreams like that and not-"

"Nightmares," Cupcake finished for him.

The others turned and began to walk away. Pippa held back and put the tennis ball in Jamie's basket. "Forget it, Jamie. There's no Easter this year."

Jamie stood alone. "He really is real!" he called after them. Jamie looked down at the ball as it rolled around in his otherwise empty basket. "I know he is," he muttered to himself.

A small distance off was a single butterfly watching the scene. It held back a moment before its white and black wings lifted it off into the sky.

~*~

Up at the North Pole the yetis stood watch at the Globe. Lights were going out faster than they could count.

~*~

In Antarctica, Jack stood on the edge of an iceberg holding the tooth box. More than once he went like he was going to throw it. Frustrated, all he could do was look at it as he debated whether or not to just toss it into the ocean. I stood by and watched his internal battle.

"I thought this might happen," Pitch remarked behind us. We didn't look at him. "They never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that. But I understand." We both turned to face him at once. Jack used his staff to blast frost at him. Pitch disappeared into what appeared to be nightmare sand.

"You don't understand anything!" Jack cried. I joined him and hurled the changing light flying out of my hands. I'd be impressed I could even do that later.

Pitch managed to dodge and block both of our attacks with that stupid sand. "I don't know what it's like to be cast out?!" he shouted back at us. Jack and I flew up to miss some black sand and fired at him. In defense, Pitch made a wall of the nightmare sand. Snow kicked up and our vision became extremely limited. "To not be believed in?" We turned around to see him walking toward us. Jack held his staff and I stood in a fighting stance. "To long for a family?"

Jack's face registered shock and he lowered his staff to listen. I knew this was bullshit but you try looking at Pitch's desperate face and not feel a tiny tug at your heart. Yes, he's done terrible things and will keep doing them… But on some level did he want a family? To be believed in, hell yes. But a family? He was someone before all this, like we all were. From what I read online he'd been a great general and had a daughter.

"All those years in the shadows I thought no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see I was wrong," he gestured to us. "We don't have to be alone, Jack, Jackie." He moved toward us. "I believe in you. And I know children will too." Pitch was right beside us now.

Jack gave Pitch his full attention but I stayed on guard. "In me?" Jack asked.

"Yes!" Pitch answered. We found ourselves in front of a black sand covered sculpture. Little lights radiated around it. "Look at what we can do! What goes together better than cold and dark?" We got a closer look at the makeshift iceberg as Pitch continued. "We can make them believe. We'll give them a world where everything, everything is-"

"Pitch-black," Jack suggested, realizing then this was all about Pitch's fame.

Pitch quickly added, "And the Frost's too. They'll believe in the three of us. Jackie," he said to me. The first part of his speech had been directed at Jack. _Guess it's my turn._ "You, my dear, could be the only ray of light left in the darkness." Pitch came over, gently took my hand, and patted it with his own. "The children would flock to you."

I pulled my hand back and gave him a hard look. "I don't want to be the only source of light left for them."

Jack considered the offer and gave me a reassuring glance before saying, "No, they'd fear both of us," he indicated to himself and Pitch. "And that's not what I want." I smiled at him proudly as we started walking away. We pretty much figured he wouldn't hand my butterflies over since we turned him down. We'd just have to go get them ourselves. "Now, for the last time, leave us alone."

Pitch's face held disbelief before it formed into a frown. "Very well," he stated. "You two want to be left alone? Done. But first…" A familiar twinkly sound forced us to spin around.

"Baby Tooth!" We charged forward to rescue her. Jack had his staff eye level.

Pitch's grip on her tightened a bit. "The staff, Jack. And the bag, Jackie," he demanded. "You both have a bad habit of interfering. Now hand them over, and I'll let her go." Baby Tooth shook her head saying we shouldn't but Pitch held her even tighter. She couldn't breathe. It took a couple moments of helpless frustration but Jack handed Pitch his staff and I tossed him my bag.

"All right," Jack told him. "Now let her go."

Pitch chuckled, "No. You two said you wanted to be alone. So be alone!" I lunged at him but he sent up a wave of black sand and it threw me back a good couple feet. I landed face first in the snow. "Jackie!" Jack yelled. Baby Tooth wriggled in Pitch's grasp and sharply pecked him. Pitch cried out and threw her into the air. She fell into an ice canyon.

As Baby Tooth was sent flying I sprung up and Jack screamed, "No!"

"Baby Tooth!" I yelled.

Then Pitch took Jack's staff and broke it in half. There was a sickening 'crack' and Jack cried out in pain. He slumped against me. Pitch slammed his nightmare sand into us as I used my body to shield Jack's. We thumped into the wall of ice behind us and began falling into the large crack in the ice. Hitting every little stupidly placed gutting piece of ice on our way down.

We finally landed hard at the bottom and I cracked my head off the wall in the process. Pitch's evil laughter echoed far above us and he tossed the broken halves of Jack's staff down at us.

~*~

Pitch had planned on tearing Jackie's bag in half and tossing it down to her like he'd done with her brother's staff. However, he found no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't rip. Even using his scythe had no visible effect on the thing. He sighed in anger before smirking.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" he chuckled. Instead of wasting more time he simply threw the bag off the side of the berg.

If he'd stuck around to watch he would've seen it hadn't fallen into the freezing waters like he'd intended. No, the strap managed to get caught on a piece of ice sticking out ten feet above the ocean. But Pitch knew none of this as he vanished in the shadows. As he neared his next destination, he pondered the thought that he might retrieve little Jackie Frost after everything was done.

After all, he had yet to figure out what her greatest fear was.

~*~

Aching from the fall, Jack raised himself up to find Jackie lying protectively over him. "Jackie?" he shook her. "Jackie?" he raised his voice a bit.

"You won't get rid of me that easily," I said setting up and gingerly touching a nasty bump on my head.

"You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?" He nodded and we peered around. Baby Tooth was lying not too far from us.

"Baby Tooth!" Jack held her gently in his hands. "You alright?" Baby Tooth nodded but squeaked as Jack closed his other hand over her. She sneezed loudly and shivered. "Sorry, bad idea," he admitted holding her away. "All I can do is keep you cold. Jackie?" He sighed and handed her to me. I held her close. Leaving my jacket in my bag had been a bad idea. "Pitch was right. I make a mess of everything."

"Jack," I started. "Pitch is an overzealous asshole who only thinks of himself. He's the one who screwed up everything. Not you." I intently stared into his eyes. "Everything's going to be okay." I smiled at Baby Tooth. "Sorry I couldn't protect you," I whispered to both of them. Baby Tooth patted my hand as if saying, 'You did your best.'

"You really are something," Jack managed to lightly grin. "If I'd only listened to the both of you we wouldn't be here."

"It keeps things interesting," I attempted to distract him from self-blame.

"Yeah, but you never left. Even when everything went to shit," he gazed at me fondly.

"That's what big sisters do," I explained. "We stick by our little brothers, no matter what."

Realization hit her and Baby Tooth jumped out of my grasp into Jack's lap. Then she wriggled herself into Jack's hoodie pocket. "Hey," he said. I shrugged. But I knew she was headed for the stashed tooth box. Too tired to even think about getting out, Jack leaned back against the wall and began to close his eyes. I acted like I was doing the same but I was waiting for what was about to happen. A voice called out from his memory.

"Jack… Jack…" We opened our eyes to discover a golden glow coming from the tooth box. "Ah!" he yelped in surprise and jumped back. He pulled out the box as the voice rang out again, "Jack."

Baby Tooth gave him a look that meant he should open the box. She put her tiny hand on it as a demonstration. He glanced at me for confirmation. I lightly smiled and nodded my encouragement. Jack reached toward the lid, and as he did, the top popped open. Inside, were a handful of baby teeth. They glowed with intense light. Memories washed over Jack like a waterfall.

All I saw was a bright light but Jack was totally engrossed. He was finally going to see a few of his memories. How he saved his real sister and why he was chosen as a Guardian. Jack would get his answers. I scouted back to give him some privacy. Baby Tooth sat in his lap, keeping an eye on him. I happened to glance up and noticed the moon peeking out from behind a couple clouds.

"Hey," I said. "Been a while." I looked back at Jack. "I'm glad Jack's getting his memories back. He deserves to know the truth." Sadly, I peered down. "But would you mind clarifying things for me? I've failed to protect everyone. How do I know if I'm not here by accident? I can't be a Guardian, can I? I don't even know for sure if you picked me or not." As I glanced up again a slight movement caught my eye.

_It can't be. Here of all places?_ A butterfly, at least twice the size of those who've helped me, fluttered through the crevice toward me. But its size wasn't the only thing different about it. Its wings were completely white. Except for the very edges where the wings were outlined black. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought Pitch captured all of you." I held out my hands for it to land on but it ignored them. It slowly flew over and landed on my forehead.

Instantaneously, I felt a jolt of emotion run through me and my vision went entirely white. That's right, white not black. "Emily!" a familiar voice called. Whoever it was sounded young and scared.

"Emily!" the voice repeated. Slowly, a picture began to form in the infinite white. It was strange but I saw myself. Like I was a mere bystander. I was on the tracks and then took off toward the voice.

"Help!" it called out. "Somebody, help us! Please!" the voice begged. _I know that voice._

"I'm coming!" I heard and saw myself call out. I turned a corner and saw three kids on the tracks. I recognized them. They were kids from my neighborhood. I'd even babysat them a couple of times. "What happened?" I asked them, though the answer seemed pretty obvious.

"We were just goofing off," Tyler, a seven year old boy with brown hair and green eyes, answered.

I leaned down and looked at Emily. "You guys know you're not supposed to play here," I scolded them focusing on Emily's leg. She had managed to get her little boot caught in between the rails and she was crying. The poor thing was only five and with red hair and big frightened blue eyes.

"We didn't mean for this to happen," Sarah added. Like her younger sister she had bright red hair. But she had brown eyes and was the oldest out of the three at eight.

"I know, I know." I attempted to pry the rails apart enough for Emily to slip out but it wasn't happening. When I tried to just grip her foot she cried out in pain. "Sorry"

There was a slight vibration. For a second I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, until I touched the metal again. The tracks were vibrating. They were vibrating. _Oh shit._

"Tyler, Sarah," I commanded renewing my efforts while attempting to remain calm. "I want you two to get away from the tracks."

"Why?" Tyler asked.

"I'm not leaving my sister," Sarah stated.

"Don't argue with me dammit just do it. Now!" I saw them give each other looks but they did as they were told. There was the familiar blare of a train horn. Looks like it was coming through town late today. _Just my luck._ Emily looked at me. Her eyes as big as they could be as tears slid down her face.

"Jackie?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm scared," she admitted.

"Don't you worry," I assured. My voice somehow managed to stay even. "I'll have you out in a second."

"No you won't," she sniffled. The rattling got worse and the horn sounded again. Far closer this time.

"Hey, now. Have I ever broken a promise?"

"N-no."

"Well, I'm not about to break one now. I said I'll get you out and I will." I had to raise my voice as the train approached. I'd figured out how to get her free. But it was gonna be tricky, close, and she wouldn't like it. "Emily?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"What did I tell you to do if you ever got scared of that silly monster in your basement?" I prodded getting a good firm grip.

"Close my eyes and count to three?"

"Yes, now I want you to do that right now."

She covered her eyes with her little hands. I couldn't hear her counting but I could read her lips. "One. Two…"

I pulled her foot out of her boot and she screamed in pain. But she didn't open her eyes. Even as I basically threw her out of the way. A second later the train was on me.

Luckily, I didn't see my body splatter but it flew through the air. It's odd seeing yourself being tossed like a ragdoll. As I was flying I caught sight of the moon on the horizon. Whiteness engulfed my vision but the emotions remained. I hadn't been afraid or angry. Peace enveloped me with a tiny hint of guilt. I was leaving Mema behind suddenly. I'd hoped she'd forgive me…

Another scene formed. I couldn't see myself this time so I guessed my view was from my own body. I was on my back looking up into the sky as snowflakes fell on my face. The moon hovered over me and I felt the same peace as before. And a sense of belonging.

The vision faded and my eyes cleared as I came out of my memories. I gasped for breath and my heart was racing. It hadn't been a random mistake. The white butterfly had noticeably vanished. Baby Tooth scurried over and poked my side in concern. "Everything's ok," I told her. "Better than ok! I remember!"

Jack suddenly jerked up and the light from the box faded. We both looked at him.

"Did you see… Did you see that?" he asked, excited about his own memory. We nodded no.

"It- it was me!" Jack picked up Baby Tooth in his energized state. "I had a family. I had a sister!" He slowed down at what his memories meant. "I saved her." He looked to me, as if he'd said something that hurt my feelings.

I decided to brush his worry aside by telling him my own tale. "I remember too!" Jack was shocked but nodded for me to continue. "I was walking home and ran into a few of the neighbor kids. A train was coming and one of them was stuck in the rails… But I saved her!" He understood what it had cost me.

We both glanced up at the moon. "That's why you chose us," he whispered to the Man in the Moon.

"We're Guardians," I finalized.

The moon shone a little brighter.

Baby Tooth squeaked and we were brought back to the urgency of the situation. "We have to get out of here," Jack handed Baby Tooth to me. He saw his broken staff and grabbed the pieces. Jack tried to put them back together. But they kept falling apart. Jack stood up, I put my hand on his shoulder, and Baby Tooth tweeted encouragingly.

We both closed our eyes and concentrated. _I believe in you, Jack._ Jack and I opened our eyes when we noticed a bright light. A blue and white light emanated between the broken staff pieces. But the changing light was also there.

I looked down and gasped as the light came from my necklace. Pitch had been wrong in assuming my ability came from my bag. The light snaked across my arm to Jack. It encircled him and flowed down his arms to his staff. Once it reached his light it shifted to the same color as his and appeared to be adding to it. Baby Tooth squeaked in delight as the pieces melded together. The staff became whole again.

We flew out of the crevice while I held Baby Tooth. She got my attention and pointed to something as we searched for my bag. I found it caught on a piece of ice. Then, I gently placed her in it and patted her head.

"You good?" I inquired. In reply she gave me a thumbs-up.

"Come on, Jackie!" Jack flew past me but stopped to look at Baby Tooth. "I owe her one."

~*~

We probably flew faster than we ever had before. Back to Pitch's lair and we hurriedly unlocked and opened all of the cages. Including the ones holding my butterflies. They instantly flew out and circled me and tickled my hair.

"Oh I'm so glad you all are alright," I said.

Jack was on a nearby cage. "Come on," he told the Mini Fairies, "let's go." But they didn't fly out. They merely bobbed up and down like they were trying.

"What's up?" I asked flying over. My butterflies followed close behind or were stuck somewhere on me.

"None of you can fly?" Jack questioned them.

Baby Tooth poked her head out of my bag and drew out attention to Pitch's Globe. It was growing darker by the second.

"The lights," Jack stated.

"Crap," I muttered as they kept going out. Children were no longer believing.

~*~

At the North Pole, a yeti was putting the last, freshly painted red robot on a shelf when the factory started to shake. A whirlwind began knocking them over as black sand engulfed the Globe. Pitch's laughter resonated throughout the room. The yetis and elves ran around the factory in fear, knocking into all the toys and prototypes.

"You're all free to go!" he announced. "We won't be needing any Christmas toys this year, thank you." He bowed. "Nor ever again."

The yeti from earlier let out a defeated sigh.

~*~

We flew over to Pitch's Globe as only a handful of lights remained.

"They're all going out," Jack said.

~*~

"Only six left," Pitch taunted. "Six precious children who still believe in the Guardians with all their heart-" He stopped and stepped on one of the lights. It went out. "Make that five." He practically danced to the others as he extinguished them. "Four! Three! Two!" he laughed.

Pitch snapped his fingers and waited for the last light to go out with a victorious smirk. But it didn't. His smile disappeared as he snapped his fingers a few more times.

He turned to face it directly with a deep frown. "One."

~*~

At that same moment Jack and Jackie saw the single light too.

Jack actually stood on the Globe as I floated next to it. We smiled and shouted, "Jamie!" There was no time to lose. We were off to Jamie's house as fast as the wind could carry us.


	12. Seeing and Believing

Jamie was in his bed talking to his old stuffed rabbit. "Okay, look, you and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads. So here's what's gonna happen."

Jack and Jackie appeared at Jamie's window and moved in closer to hear.

"If it wasn't a dream and if you are real, then you have to prove it. Like, right now." Jamie leaned in and intently stared at the bunny. When nothing happened, Jamie said, "I've believed in you for a long time, okay? Like my whole life, in fact. So you kinda owe me now." He grabbed the rabbit and brought it face level. "You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know." Me and Jack leaned in closer to the cracked window. "Anything," Jamie practically whispered. "Anything at all." My heart went out to him. I'd gone through the same thing, and an answer never came for me.

"I knew it," Jamie stated after a couple moments passed in utter silence. He let the rabbit fall to the floor.

We slipped through the window. Jamie's face held hurt and the beginnings of disbelief. Both of us had to do something. Now.

Blowing frost onto Jamie's window, Jack drew an Easter egg on the icy surface. "Huh?" Jamie noticed the image. He looked back to the stuffed rabbit on the floor. "He's real," the little boy stood on his bed. Jack drew a bunny in the frosted glass, then using his magic, he concentrated on getting the image to hop across the room. I released one of my butterflies out of my bag.

"Whoa." Jamie was thrilled as the rabbit hoped around him. Jack and I chuckled as Jamie laughed when my butterfly landed on his nose. He gently took it in his hands as the snow rabbit burst into hundreds of snowflakes above his head.

"Snow?" Jamie asked. A large snowflake landed right on Jamie's nose. It glowed blue and I noticed a faint light radiating off my butterfly. Jamie carefully considered the snow before whispering, "Jack Frost?"

"Did he just say-"

"Jack Frost?" Jamie repeated looking around.

"He said it again," Jack glanced at me for confirmation and I nodded. "He said… You said…" He turned back to the boy.

Said lad completely turned around and stared at my brother wide-eyed and with an open mouth. "Jack Frost."

"That's right!" Jack cheered. "B-but that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name!" I happily smiled at him. "You said my name," he took a step closer to Jamie.

Jamie just stood there with that awed look on his face. "Wait." Jack realized something important. "Can you hear me?" Jamie nodded. "C-can you see me?" He was right in front of the boy. Again, Jamie nodded, a smile forming on his face.

"He sees me! H-he sees me!" Jack did a flip and landed on a desk.

"You just made it snow," Jamie remarked.

"I know!" Jack was ecstatic.

"In my room," Jamie said.

"I know!" Jack sang out.

"You're real?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied. "Who do you think brings you all the blizzards and the snow days, a-and you remember when you went flying on the sleigh the other day?"

"That was you?"

"That was me!" Jack replied.

"Cool," Jamie gushed.

"Right?" Jack agreed.

"But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and the-"

"Real, real, real!" Jack said picking up the stuffed bunny. "Every one of us is real!"

Jamie jumped up and down on his bed. "I knew it!"

"Jackie," Jack gleefully turned to me. "He sees us!"

"Who are you talking to?" Jamie got a confused look on his face.

Jack's face fell and he glanced between me and Jamie. I only let out a sigh. This was Jack's moment, not mine. "He doesn't see me." My butterfly flew out of Jamie's hands and flew over to me. "It's ok," I told both it and Jack. "The point is, he sees _you_ , Jack," I told him smiling.

"But, Jackie…"

"Who's Jackie?" Jamie questioned.

"My sister."

"You have a sister?" Just then, Jamie's Mom called from down the hall. "Jamie, who are you talking to?"

"Um," Jamie looked to Jack. "Jack Frost."

Jamie's Mom laughed. "Uh, okay." They both laughed but I didn't mind being left out. Jack finally found someone to believe in him. Well, besides me.

An enormous clap of thunder made us all turn to the window.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." It was North and Tooth in the sleigh. The sleigh was out of control and crash-landed right in Jamie's front yard. The reindeer got loose and made a break for the woods.

"Ah, moi deti! Come back!" North called to them staggering.

"North, are you okay?" Tooth asked holding him up.

"It's official," North replied leaning on her. "My powers are kaput."

The sleigh made a few creaking sounds and knocked North off balance. He fell over as Tooth noticed Jack and Jackie rushing toward them. "Look!" Tooth tried to fly to them but was too weak and fell to the ground. Her wings fluttering uselessly behind her. "Jack! Jackie!"

Jack was a gentleman and helped her up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she blushed.

"What are you two doing here?" North asked.

"What do you think?" I replied.

"Same as you," Jack answered as Jamie came running out of his house. He gawked at the two Guardians.

"The last light," North stated.

"Wow! It is you!" Jamie gushed. "I mean, it is you." He briefly took North's hand in his own. "I knew it wasn't a dream," he announced turning to smile at Jack.

"Jack, Jackie," North exclaimed. "He sees you."

"Just Jack actually," I admitted. They all gave me sad and sympathetic looks but I simply shrugged.

"Wait, where's Bunny?" Jack noticed.

"Bunny?" I called. I was sure he was merely an adorable miniature version of himself but I didn't want to take any chances.

"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us," North explained. "Bunny most of all."

We all looked to see a regular sized rabbit hop off the sleigh. "Oh no," Jack said.

"Bunny!" I happily cheered. At least he was still here, and utterly adorable.

Jamie let out a giggle. "That's the Easter Bunny?"

Bunny was frustrated and stood on his two back legs. "Now somebody sees me! Where were you about an hour ago, mate?"

"What happened to him?" Jamie inquired walking over to the sleigh. "He used to be so huge and cool and now he's… Cute." He rubbed under Bunny's chin. Bunnymund moaned and started thumping his little foot. "Oh that's good…" But then he caught himself and shooed Jamie away.

"Did you tell him to say that?" he asked Jack hoping over. "That's it! Let's go!" He hit Jack's leg and put up his little paws. I couldn't help but giggle. "Me and you! Come on!"

Jamie quickly tried to explain. "No. Actually, he told me you were real. Just when I started to think that maybe you weren't."

Bunny looked to Jack and back at Jamie. "He made you believe? In me?"

Jamie nodded and Bunnymund faced Jack. "We both did," he gently shoved my shoulder.

"You too, Sheila?" Bunny asked me.

"Yeah," I stated before I couldn't take it anymore. "Bunny!" I squealed and rushed over to him. He wasn't expecting it as I picked him up and hugged him. Bunny said something but it came out muffled as I twirled around.

"Uh, Jackie?" North asked but I didn't hear him.

"Um, Sis?" Jack inquired and I finally stopped spinning.

"Yes?"

"I don't think Bunny can breathe," Tooth explained.

I glanced down and saw what she meant. "Oh, oh!" Quickly, I held Bunny at arm's length and he gasped for air. "I'm so sorry, Bunny!"

"It's… alright… Sheila," he managed to get out. "Not the worst thing to ever happen to me."

"You can float?" Jamie gawked looking at Bunny.

Bunnymund's smile vanished as he peered into my eyes. "He doesn't see you?"

Before I could reply an exceedingly loud crash of thunder made us all jump. We looked at the sky and saw Pitch glancing down at us from a mass of writhing Nightmare sand. I put Bunny down and nodded to Jack about what we had to do.

"Get Jamie out of here," Jack ordered.

We leapt into the air and flew directly at Pitch. North called out behind us, "Be careful, Jack, Jackie!" They then took Jamie to find a safe place.

Pitch's eyes filled with anger as we flew at him. "Jack and Jackie Frost! Let's end this, shall we?" he mocked coming right at us.

Jack sent out his ice while I focused and sent out that light again. However, Pitch absorbed Jack's attack and seemed to merely deflect mine. Nightmare sand began engulfing out advances. "Your little tricks don't work anymore," he taunted. Our plan horribly backfired as Pitch charged us and unleashed a fury of Nightmare sand. I attempted to get in between it and Jack but it was too powerful and knocked us for a loop. My vision blurred and I had the distinct feeling we were falling.

~*~

Meanwhile, the Guardians were doing their best to avoid any Nightmares. North struggled to keep up.

"Quick, this way!" Bunnymund lead them down an alley. Only for it to turn out to be a dead-end. "Dead-end. Other way, other way!" He bounded around and started leading them out of the alley. North groaned as he turned.

They stopped upon hearing something. Two distinct 'thuds' were heard as both Jackie and then Jack fell out of the sky. Both hit a dumpster on their descent and fell to the ground. Hard.

"Jack!" Jamie yelled.

"Jackie!" Bunny added. They all rushed over to them.

"That was a good try you two!" North encouraged. "A for effort!"

"He's stronger," Jack groaned getting up. "We can't beat him."

"We'll figure something out," I managed as I was helped up. North and Tooth traded looks of concern. Bunny stood next to me and reassuringly patted my leg. A menacing chuckle rang throughout the alley and we saw a Nightmare shadow streak across the alley.

"All this fuss over one little boy," Pitch stated. "And still he refuses to stop believing." Another crack of thunder revealed the shadow of an approaching Nightmare. The echo of hooves clacking against the alley came from only a few feet ahead of us. "Very well. There are other ways to snuff out a light."

Bulbs started bursting as the arm of the shadow moved across the remaining lights in the alley. Jamie appeared terrified.

Bunny hoped out in front of us. "If you want him, you're gonna have to go through me!"

In return, Pitch laughed. "Look how fluffy you are! Would you like a scratch behind the ears?" The shadow was nearly on top of Bunny.

"Don't you even think about it!" Bunnymund retorted as he jumped into the safety of my arms. For reassurance, I held him closer.

Pitch's shadow vanished as he came into view, ridding atop a Nightmare. A gleeful smile strewn across his face as Nightmares flanked his sides. "I can't tell you how happy is make me to see you all like this. You look awful." He had a point but we all surrounded Jamie.

"Jack," Jamie looked up at him. "I'm scared." Jack leaned down and by the look across his face I knew he was having a flashback. I put a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled.

My brother glanced up at me all wide-eyed before a knowing smirk spread across his face. He smiled at Jamie reassuringly. "We're gonna have a little fun, instead," he said. "That's it. That's my center." Jamie merely gave him a confused look as Pitch got closer.

"So what do you think, Jamie? Do you believe in the Boogeyma-"

Pow! A snowball clonked Pitch right in the face. Two of the Nightmares glanced at each other, unsure how to react. Jamie couldn't help but snicker and I let out a full-blown snort. North let out his own chuckle.

Jack glanced around the alley. He spotted a wooden crate and trash can lids. "Now let's go get your friends," Jack told him.

Pitch wiped the snow from his as a bright light nearly blinded him. A small butterfly flew an inch from him, almost appeared to smirk, before it quickly flew off. A track of ice lead out of the alley. Pitch sneered seeing Jamie and the Guardians gone.

~*~

_Whoosh!_ A blue streak flew past a man walking his dog on the quiet streets of Burgess. A yellow butterfly right behind. Jack created a path of ice for everyone. Jamie was in front and I flew next to him. A couple feet behind us were the Guardians as they road their make-shift sleds.

"Yeah! Come on!" Jack encouraged.

"Whoa!" Jamie added. "Cool!"

Cupcake laid in her bed tossing and turning. Another Nightmare looming over her. Suddenly, _boof_! A snowball pounded into her window startling her awake. She sat up and saw something amazing. It was snowing inside her room! For the first time I a long while, Cupcake smiled as a pink butterfly landed on her nose.

~*~

A few houses down Pippa was also amazed by the snow drifting down in her room. She opened her hand and a blue butterfly landed in her open palm. Pippa went to the window when she heard a knock on the pane. She couldn't believe what she was seeing! Jamie Bennett floating outside her second-story bedroom window.

Pippa threw open the window gaping. "Jamie, how are you doing that?" she asked.

"Jack Frost," he answered. "Come on, we need your help!"

Jamie took off flying down the street as a snowflake landed on Pippa's nose. She suddenly saw a figure right beside Jamie. "Hey, is that?"

"Jack Frost!" she heard Monty cry from his own bedroom window. Pippa looked across the street to see Monty zipping up his coat as snow fell in his own bedroom.

~*~

Caleb and Claude sat up in their beds in astonishment staring at the snowflakes streaming down from the ceiling. Two butterflies, one green the other blue, flew around them and almost seemed to be in some sort of Arial dance with the little flakes.

"Huh?!" Cluade exclaimed. 'Thud!' The twins looked down to find two neatly wrapped gifts at the foot of their beds.

"Merry Christmas!" they heard a joy voice bellow from outside. They opened their window, dumbfounded, as their heroes sled past.

"Happy Easter!" Bunny called.

"Don't forget to floss!" Tooth put in.

Caleb looked to his brother, shocked. Suddenly, Cupcake slid past, laughing and screaming on her own sled. "Cupcake?" Claude asked. And the kids quickly joined the caravan on their own sleds. "Yeah!" Claude yelled.

"Jamie, you were right!" Pippa called out.

"The Easter Bunny's real!" Caleb hollered.

"And the Tooth Fairy!" Pippa added.

"And Santa!" Claude called.

"They're all real!" Monty screamed in delight.

We all came gliding to a halt a few moments later. Pitch stood on top a nearby building with a confident smile. Ominous clouds swirled behind him and the thunder returned.

Monty, oblivious, joyously ran past us as we solemnly stood in silence staring at the sky. "Whoa, yeaaaah!" he yelled. He saw Pitch and made a drastic U-turn. "Ahhhhhhh!"

"You think a few children can help you?" Pitch chided. "Against this?"

The Nightmare sand storm descended from the sky. North drew his sword but the weight of the blade was too much for him. The fact was, he could barely stand. Me and Jack glanced over to Jamie and his friends to see the disconcerting looks on their faces.

"They're just bad dreams, Jamie," Jack reassured him.

"And we'll protect you, mate," Bunny added as we all moved in front of the kids.

"Aw, you'll protect them," Pitch jeered. "But who will protect you?"

Jamie took a second to reflect on what Jack said. He noticed his friends appeared to be even more scared than he was. We looked down to see Jamie take his position in front of us.

"I will," he answered. His friends moved to join him.

"I will," Cupcake stated pushing past North.

"I will," Caleb and Claude stated.

"And me," Pippa said.

"I'll try," Monty put in.

"Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?" Pitch said. The Nightmare sand came crashing down from the sky in torrents. It snaked through the town engulfing everything as it came hurtling toward us.

Without thinking, I took a step forward. I acted on pure instinct and put my hand over top Jamie's head. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn I could actually touch him.

"I do believe in you," Jamie declared. "I'm just not afraid of you."


	13. Faith

Jamie trusted his hand out toward the Nightmare wave. His friends following suite. Just as the sand made contact with them… The black sand burst into various streams of golden dreamsand.

"Whoa… whoaaa!" all the kids said in wonder. It was amazing watching the glittering sand swirl around them. Then, it became utter pandemonium. The surrounding Nightmares bucked and jumped as the dreamsand made its way past them. Pitch watched in horror as his precious Nightmares morphed back into the golden sand and made its way across town.

Tooth suddenly got a shocked look on her face. A second later her wings began to flutter. With renewed strength and energy she lifted off the ground. She sailed past the cheering kids.

"Yeah, Tooth Fairy! Whoaaa!" Cupcake yelled.

North's eyes widened, he straightened his back, and unsheathed his swords. He let out a triumphed chuckle.

"Whoa, yeah!" Monty encouraged.

"No!" Pitch commanded. "Get them!" He gave a signal and another wave of Nightmares came charging at us. "Do your jobs!"

"Oh yeah, come on, come on!" Bunny urged, waiting to be transformed. But, it didn't happen and he was pursued by a snarling Nightmare. "Oh, crikey!" he took off running, or should I say hopping. I would've helped but I was currently fighting off two Nightmares of my own. Out of the corner of my eye I saw North throw two snow globes into the ground. An army of yetis and elves emerged and I smiled at the cavalry.

"No way!" Claude and Caleb said.

Bunny tried to scurry under a parked car in order to evade the attacking Nightmare. "I'm just a bunny!" he called as it managed to grab onto his tale. To its misfortune, he transformed hack to his normal size as it pulled him out of his hiding spot. He whipped out his boomerangs as he hung upside down. "G 'day, mate!" He kicked the Nightmare and flipped into the air while throwing his weapons that sliced through two more horses. They instantly turned to dust.

Bunnymund drummed his feet on the ground and an army of sentinel eggs rose up out of the earth. Caleb found himself on top of one as they joined the yetis and elves in battle. "Whoa!" Caleb shouted.

"Come on!" Bunny called. "Woooohoooo!"

Elves riding toy ducks and planes came flying in overhead like bombers. The Nightmares turned to puffs of black sand as they flew through them. The children turned to see a Nightmare charging toward them. Only for it to stop in its tracks once the kids faced it head-on.

"Let's get 'em!" Cupcake shouted.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" They, accompanied by two elves in a bike and side car, charged the Nightmare. The elf behind the wheel lunged toward it and started biting at its haunches.

"Come on guys," Cupcake cheered, "we can do it!" They put their hands on the horse and it turned from black to gold.

~*~

Pitch looked down at the chaos in the streets below. Suddenly, two audible 'thuds' caught his attention. He turned toward the sources to see Jack on one side of him and me on the other.

Jack quickly sent out a streak of frost, disabling a few Nightmares. When my light came into contact with the sand it lit up brighter and appeared to morph it into golden dreamsand that floated harmlessly away in the shape of butterflies.

~*~

The Guardians turned toward the explosions of ice, snow, and light to see the battle raging atop the surrounding buildings.

~*~

Pitch charged us with attacks of his own. We both leapt to adjacent roofs to avoid them and retaliate.

~*~

"All yours, mate," Bunny told North opening a rabbit hole for them.

I caught up to Pitch near a chimney and attempted to roundhouse the back of his head. Unfortunately, he caught my foot and threw me back about twenty feet before I could block. I managed to catch myself in time to see Jack come around the chimneys corner.

Pitch made and let a Nightmare arrow fly… But was deflected by Tooth as she flew in front of him. She then took out a few Nightmares of her own.

"Thanks, Tooth!" Jack called.

Pitch rounded on me and tried to do what he'd failed with my brother. An arrow suddenly came right at me. Unluckily for him, Bunnymund came flying out of a nearby chimney and used a boomerang to destroy it. "Ho, ho, ho!" he yelled throwing his weapons. The Nightmares around Pitch exploded as the boomerangs ripped through them.

"Thanks, Bunny," I smiled at him sending another wave of light at Pitch.

"Anytime, Sheila," he replied grinning back at me catching his weapons.

~*~

North shot out of a bunny hole, his swords at the ready, only to have landed on a roof some distance away from the Guardians.

"Hyah!" he hollered. Then, "Wrong roof."

~*~

Pitch attempted to escape the attacking Guardians by slipping into a nearby shadow. North jumped off the roof to greet him midair with his swords. The confrontation knocked Pitch to his feet and he formed a scythe with his Nightmare sand in order to cross swords with North. In an instant, he was surrounded by all of us. We took turns dealing Pitch a few humiliating blows.

~*~

Jamie looked over Caleb's shoulder as a wisp of dreamsand left his palm and floated into the air.

"Look at that!" Caleb exclaimed.

A golden butterfly took the opportunity to land on top of Jamie's head. He got an idea. "I got it." In return all he received was a bunch of confused looks. "I know what we have to do! Guys, come on!" Jamie led his friends as they followed the streams of dreamsand down the street toward the growing mass of golden sand. The butterfly trailing not far behind.

~*~

We cautiously advanced toward Pitch.

"It's over Pitch!" Jack said. "There's no place to hide."

Pitch gave us a wry smile and quickly descended into the shadows. He cast multiple versions of himself along the alley walls. Since I knew where he'd pop up I situated myself between him and where Jack stood. In all the mayhem I could practically feel him come up behind me with that scythe.

"Jackie!" Bunny shouted in alarm. "Look out!"

We all turned, the others reflected horror but I wasn't even slightly panicked. Not because I knew what was next but because of a feeling I had. Even as his weapon nearly crashed down on my head I had faith everything was going to be alright.

Right before he got me, a golden whip wrapped itself around Pitch's hands. It pulled him through the air before he crashed hard into the ground. A funnel cloud of dreamsand swirled in front of him. Slowly, the sand parted to reveal none other than Sandy. He gave Pitch a look before wagging his finger at him. It was like he was saying, "No, no, no." Then, he swiftly uppercutted him back up into the air.

"Whoa!" the kids gasped. "The Sandman!" Sandy looked off to the side where Jamie and his friends had gathered. He formed a dreamsand hat and tipped the cap to Jamie. Gleefully, Jamie waved back to him. Everyone, including the kids, stood in admiration.

"Man, this is so cool!"

"Yeah, alright!"

"Wahoo!"

"Wow!"

Sandy glanced back to the whip and tugged on it. Effectively slamming Pitch into the ground knocking his ass out. Little golden butterflies circled his head as he dreamed. Kinda creepy. But I barely noticed as we all welcomed Sandy back.

"Welcome back, old friend!" North greeted.

Jack was a bit stunned, "Sandy."

"Sandy!" I cried running over and giving him a huge hug. I must've caught him off guard because he floated there for a second before reassuringly patting my back. He was smiling when I pulled back.

"Oh, Sandy," Tooth exclaimed. "You're alright!"

"Sandy, come here!" Bunny added.

"Yeah!" Jack got over his initial shock.

"Mate," Bunnymund continued. "You are a sight for sore eyes!"

Sandy floated up into the air, shooting streams of dreamsand in every direction.

~*~

A wisp of golden sand floated into a child's bedroom and touched his forehead while he slept. Abruptly, a dreamsand figure formed above his head. It was the Tooth Fairy.

~*~

Lights began to reappear on the globe. Baby Tooth noticed this and perked up. Her tiny wings began fluttering. Other fairies began to fly. They shot down to the tooth boxes and began opening them. Kids' faces lit up with their fondest memories as their boxes glowed.

Even more lights appeared.

~*~

Sophie peered out her bedroom window as a purple butterfly floated down on her nose. She giggled watching as streams of dreamsand danced along the Burgess skyline.

"Pretty!" she exclaimed.

~*~

More and more windows began to shine bright with gold as swirls of glittering sand filled the night sky.

A Nightmare came barreling toward Cupcake. It screeched to a halt, inches from her face. She gently tapped the creature on the nose and it turned into a dreamsand unicorn. She let out an excited giggle as she watched it prance around her.

A little distance away a gigantic dreamsand foot came down revealing a brontosaurus. We rejoiced as various creatures filled the streets.

"Yeah!" Monty shouted.

Jamie stood in awe watching a school of beautiful dreamsand fish as they floated by. Out of nowhere he was hit in the head with a snowball. He turned to see Jack smiling.

The boy returned the smile as he picked up a snowball and threw it at his friends. Almost instantaneously, a snowball fight ensued.

"Oh yeah?" Claude replied. "Bring it on!"

Sandy saluted us as me and Jack stood with North to the side as the fight escalated.

"You're center?" he asked Jack.

"It took a while, but I figured it out," my brother answered.

North tossed Jack a small item. He caught it and we looked at his open palm. It was a Russian nesting doll in the image of Jack, similar to those we saw in North's workshop. Jack smiled and gave North a wink in return.

"And you, Jackie?" he asked me. Jack also looked at me with concern on his face.

"Don't worry," I assured them. "I solved the riddle." Before either of them could say anything… 'Boof!'North got hit by a snowball. He turned to see Claude, Caleb, and an elf. They immediately pointed fingers at each other.

"Ooohhh," both boys said.

Until North burst into laughter. "You're all on naughty list!" He made his own gigantic snowball. "Bunny, think fast!" North threw the snowball, and it smacked Bunny right in his face. There was so much force behind it he went tumbling backwards into the snow.

I giggled as I bolted over. "Are you alright?" I inquired offering him my hand.

"Peachy, Sheila," he mumbled grabbing my hand. "Just… Peachy!" he laughed pulling me forward into the snow with him.

"Aw!" I cried in shock. I attempted to break my fall with my free hand. My other one instinctively held on tighter to Bunny's, like he was gonna save me. He's the one who did it.

This fact was enough to throw off my balance in midair so I landed on my back instead of front. A shocked Bunny found himself jerked sideways with my death grip. End result? I ended up flat on my back in the snow. With Bunny strewn on top of me.

For a couple of stunned seconds neither of us said anything. Then I burst out laughing. It must have been contagious because he soon joined me. As we settled down I came to the realization we hadn't moved. Instead, Bunnymund looked down at me. His eyes seemed to hold a mixture of amusement and uncertainty? In reality, I had no clue what he could have been thinking.

I smiled up at him reassuringly. He slowly returned the smile and I noticed his ears perked up and weren't lying flat on his head. His expression now held a certain amount of confidence and gentleness. Though it surprised me a bit when he started leaning in closer to me. _What? No… He couldn't be…_

Our warm moment together was abruptly interrupted. The tingling feeling in my stomach vanished as we heard a groan and glanced over to see Pitch getting up. Bunny took an entire two seconds to get off me. But he was a gentleman, helping me up even though I didn't need it. One hand went to a boomerang while the other kept a firm grip on my waist. It was as if he was hugging me to him for protection and he was ready for action.

"No," we heard Pitch moan. He glanced around to see the kids having the time of their lives. No fear shown in their joyful eyes. I could see his entire body shaking with rage. "You dare have fun in my presence!" he practically screamed at us. The other Guardians took notice of him now. "I am the Boogeyman! AND YOU WILL FEAR ME!" Pitch lunged at Jamie, who obliviously ran toward him. But Jamie ran right through him, still laughing. "Nooooo!" Pitch yelled into the fading night. He gasped, realizing he no longer held any power over the children. Devastation clear on his face.

"No," he breathed out. Side by side, all of us Guardians approached him. He turned and fled into the forest.

~*~

Pitch ran through the shadows in utter terror. He crashed through the trees of the forest, and out onto the ice of the pond. He peered over his shoulder to see if we were on his tail, when 'Wham!' Pitch ran smack into North's chest. The force of the impact threw him backwards and he slipped on the ice. It sounded like it hurt when his butt impacted the frozen pond. He looked up to see North smiling down at him.

"Leaving the party so soon?" North asked.

"You didn't even say goodbye," Tooth added. She tossed a coin to him and he caught it. I held back a snicker knowing what would happen next.

"A quarter?" he inquired. 'Bam!' Tooth's fist punched him square in the jaw. A single tooth skidded across the ice. She shook her hand.

"And that's for my fairies," she said satisfied.

"You go girl," I told her and got a friendly wink in response.

Pitch scowled at us. "You can't get rid of me! Not forever! There will always be fear!"

"So what?" North countered. "As long as one child believes we will be here to fight fear!"

"Oh really?" he sneered before turning to me. "Then what's your excuse?" Everyone froze at his words and Bunny pulled me closer to him. "They still don't see you, do they?" Pitch taunted getting back on his feet. "Why do you bother defending them when not even one child believes in you?"

"Don't listen to him, Sheila," Bunnymund said. "He's just tryin' to rile ya."

"Stuff it rabbit," Pitch disputed. "You know I'm right. Even after all this… Where has it gotten you?" He gestured to the other Guardians. "They will never understand, Jackie. They all have infamous names, who hasn't heard of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny? Even your 'brother' had a name most would recognize." The atmosphere was so tense it was stifling. "But who's ever heard of little Jackie Frost? Hm? No one, and without someone like myself to advocate for you, no one ever will."

"Shut your bloody mouth!" Bunny yelled at him.

"Why so angry, Cottontail?" Pitch's eyes flickered with amusement. "Upset your girlfriend is exactly like me?"

Bunny looked like he was ready to rip Pitch's head clean off. So did everyone else. I sighed and gently put a hand on Bunny's arm. He looked to me and his gaze instantly softened. "I'll handle this." He was going to argue but I softly separated myself from his grasp so I could stand firmly and confront the Boogeyman on my own. "I pity you."

His face clearly registered shock before returning to a sneer. "You?" he incredulously questioned, "pity me?" Pitch let out a nonhumerous chuckle.

"Yes," I cut him off before he could continue. "I do. It doesn't matter if the kids see me. All that matters is whether or not they believe."

"What good could it possibly do for you if they believe in the Guardians?" he bantered. "Last I checked, Jackie, you were not one."

"You're wrong," I answered. "You of all people should realize that just because you can't see something doesn't mean you don't believe it's real." _Think about air stupid._

"Well, aren't you so noble. But even if you become a Guardian you'll vanish," for emphasis he snapped his fingers. "And whatever you stand for will fade away with you."

"You're a real idiot, you know that?" I bluntly stated. "Some things are not meant to be seen but felt. People will know my name. They already do."

"Denial doesn't suit you, Jackie."

"It's not denial, its fact. And my name isn't actually Jackie." There was a sort of stunned silence. Pitch's eyes got bigger from shock. The only one who wasn't currently confused was my bro, and that is only because I told him a few weeks after we met. "It's a nickname. Whenever I meet someone I always say 'Jackie' because I could never stand my name. It sounded too old fashioned for me. But, now it seems fitting." I glanced at the other Guardians before continuing. Jack gave me an encouraging smile and nodded for me to keep going. "My real name is Faith Jackelyn Frost."


	14. Journey's End?

"Faith…" Pitch gasped.

"Yes, Pitch, Faith. And faith, along with fun, hope, wonder, dreams, and memories will always triumph over fear," I proudly stated looking at the other Guardians.

"Really?" Pitch gathered himself and smirked. "Then what are they doing here?" Numerous Nightmares emerged from the woods effectively surrounding the pond. It should have been a terrifying sight, but we were unphased.

"They can't be my Nightmares," North answered. "I'm not afraid."

"Looks like it's your fear they smell," Jack explained.

Understanding flashed on Pitch's features and his eyes grew enormous with terror. Slowly, the Nightmares moved in on him. He started backing away, but the Nightmares picked up speed as they charged toward him. "Ahhhh, no… AAAHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in fear. Pitch tried to run, but the Nightmares were faster. He was swept up in a stamped of Nightmare sand. Streaks of black whipped and latched themselves onto him. The black cloud quickly carried him through the forest. "No, no, nooooo!" we heard him cry out.

It was obvious he was fighting them with everything he had. The look of utter desperation and fright in his eyes made my gut wrench. Still, the black mass pulled him through the broken bedframe and down into the dark depths of the hole.

~*~

Pitch glanced up at the moon as he disappeared into the abyss. The bedframe was sucked in with him and the earth sealed itself up. Leaving no trace of the Boogeyman.

~*~

Although it was clearly morning the moon could be faintly seen up in the sky. Jack came over and put a hand on my shoulder as we both gazed up and smiled at Manny. We heard Tooth's laugh and turned to see North, Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny beaming at us with pride.

Tooth came flying over to give Jack a hug. She lifted him off the ground in her excitement. They were going to share a moment but she pulled back in giddy embarrassment as Baby Tooth interjected. Jack acknowledged Baby Tooth and gently patted her on the side of her face. Me and Bunny shared a knowing look as North stepped forward.

"Are you ready now, Jack, Jackie?" He tossed something to me and I caught it on reflex. I glanced down and saw a tiny Russian nesting doll. It was exactly like the one he'd given Jack only it was of a mini smiling me. In my little hands was a multicolored butterfly. _How did he know? And when did he have time to make this?_ "To make it official," he smiled at us.

We peered over to see a stern elf hitting a horn against his palm. A Yeti handed North the big book we'd seen when we first met everyone. Sandy and Bunny shared a boastful look.

"Then is time to take Oath," North announced. He opened the book and flipped through several pages before he spoke again. "Will you, Jack and Faith Jackelyn Frost… vow to watch over the children of the world?" Jamie and his friends, along with a crowd of Yetis, elves, eggs, and butterflies made their way across the pond to the Guardians. North continued, "To guard them with your lives- their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."

Jack took a second to look back at Jamie, while I glanced at all the children, especially little Sophie. "I will," Jack said. "I will," I answered the same moment as my brother.

"Then congratulations, Jack and 'Jackie' Frost- for you two are now and forevermore… Guardians."

Jamie and the kids erupted in a loud cheer, as did the Yetis, eggs, and the butterflies fluttered around in little circles.

"Oh man!"

"Woo!"

"Yeah, Jack!" the cheered. None of them said anything about me but I didn't care. And everyone else was too caught up in the moment to notice.

"Yippa!" North yelled.

"Yeah! Wooo! Good job, mate. And good job, Sheila!" Bunny ran over and swept me up in an enormous hug. I giggled and hugged him back as I was lifted off the ground.

"Go, Jack!"

"Alright!"

"Klasno!" North picked Jack up, gave him a hug, and kissed him on both cheeks. Jack winced but still looked up to North with a smile. Pretty sure he would have done the same with me but Bunny held on tight.

"That's my boy!" Bunnymund said patting Jack on the shoulder.

The kids continued to cheer as Tooth patted my shoulder and Sandy gave us a thumbs up. I saw an elf imitate North as he picked up another elf standing next to him and gave him a big kiss. After an awkward pause, the affectionate elf was punched in the face.

I noticed several fairies hovering near Jack as they formed the shape of a heart. One of the swooning fairies fainted and fell to the ground.

"Keep it together girls," Tooth instructed. I would've laughed but Jack pointed past me and I turned to see what he was smirking about. My butterflies formed themselves in the shape of a heart with an arrow through it. Bunny must've seen it too 'cause he did laugh and nuzzle the side of my face chuckling. I'm beating I turned beat red as I blushed harder than I ever had before in my life. "Very funny," I stated trying to hide my face in Bunny's fur.

"Yo guys look!" Caleb shouted.

"That's Santa's sleigh," Monty said.

We looked up to the sky as North's sleigh came in for a landing. The tie-dyed elf rescued a lone egg from the skis of the sleigh as it glided across the icy pond.

"Wow, its real."

"That is wicked!"

"Whoa that was awesome!"

"Oh… can you believe this?"

"Did you guys see that?"

"Wow!"

"Everybody loves the sleigh," Bunnymund wryly told North.

"Look at that!"

"So totally insane!"

North turned to face Jack and put a hand on his shoulder. "Time to go."

As the kids gazed on in wonder, Sandy threw up his hands creating a shower of dreamsand. It slowly drifted down.

"Whoa!"

"It's beautiful!"

Sophie came over to Bunny, who reluctantly released me. He bent down to hand her an egg. She giggled and patted the brim of his nose.

"Happy Easter ya little anklebiter. I'm gonna miss yah," he told her.

"Bye, bye, bunny," she replied.

A pink butterfly flew over and landed on Sophie's nose. She laughed as its tiny wings flapped back and forth. A small light emitted from the flapping wings and went into Sophie's eyes. She blinked a couple times and the butterfly flew off her but didn't go far as it landed in my hand. Sophie looked over in the butterfly's direction and rubbed her eyes. She blinked again before walking over.

But it didn't seem like she was staring at the butterfly. Sophie stopped a foot in front of me and I swear she was peering up into my face. _No… It can't be._ Then, she smiled.

"Pretty!" she exclaimed and hugged my legs. For a second all I could do was stand there gapping. After months of not being seen on or heard. To be walked through repeatedly. You get used to it. Now, Sophie was hugging me!

Bunny saw the whole thing and had his own astonished expression. "Sheila, she sees ya!"

The butterfly flew out of my hand and I slowly bent down 'till I was eye level with Sophie. "Hello Sophie," I told her beaming.

"Hi," she sweetly replied. I hugged her and picked her up. My heart felt like it was full of joy and a warm tingling feeling was in my stomach.

"Jackie," Jack said in shock.

"She sees you!" Tooth nearly screamed.

"She believes!" North joyfully shouted.

~*~

The other kids looked over to see Sophie seemingly floating in midair. A purple butterfly flew over Jamie's head. A light similar to the other butterflies drifted down from its wings into Jamie's eyes. He blinked but when he reopened them a teenage looking girl with long brown hair and the greenest eyes he had ever seen was holding his little sister. Other butterflies passed over his friends and similar incidents occurred.

~*~

Slowly, the rest of the children came over. I assumed they were staring at Sophie until Jamie spoke up. "Who are you?" he asked.

All of the Guardians gasped and I fought back tears of joy. "My name's Faith Jackelyn Frost. But please, just call me Jackie," I answered.

"She's my big sister," Jack added patting my shoulder.

"Big sister?" Jamie inquired. "Wait, were you with Jack in my room?"

"That's right, kiddo." He smiled and the next few seconds I found myself bogged down with question after question.

"You're Jack's sister?"

"That's so cool!"

"How much older are you?"

"Are you the one with these butterflies?"

"Can you fly too?"

I was utterly ecstatic and answered their questions as best I could but I knew we had to leave. Slowly, I put Sophie back down but let her play with a few butterflies one last time. It was as if Jamie realized what was about to happen.

"You're leaving," he asked Jack. "But, what if Pitch comes back?" Jack looked down and noted Jamie's worried expression. "What if we stop believing again? If I can't see you-"

Jack knelt down to look Jamie in the eye. "Hey, hey, slow down, slow down. You telling me you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up?"

Jamie took a moment to consider the question before answering. "No."

"Okay," Jack continued. "Well do you stop believing in the sun when the clouds block it out?"

Jamie smiled, "No."

"We'll always be there, Jamie. And now… we'll always be here." He pointed to Jamie's heart. "Which kind of makes you a Guardian too." Jamie beamed as Jack stood up and headed toward the sleigh. His friends stood off to the side rubbing their eyes as they became drowsy.

"I can't keep my eyes open."

"I think I gotta go home."

"Let's go home."

"What time is it?"

"I'm sleepy."

"Jack!" Jamie called running over to my brother. Jack turned in time for Jamie to wrap his arms around him. For a second, Jack was as astonished as I had been. Before he returned the warm embrace. After a moment he stood and joined the rest of us in the sleigh.

"Hyah!" North called. We all glanced toward the kids as the sleigh took off. Jamie jogged a bit behind us, like he still didn't want to let go. He was followed closely by Sophie. As the sleigh gained altitude there was a point where they could no longer follow us.

"Woooo!"

"Yeah!"

"Yay!"

Jack began to move to the back of the sleigh as the others patted him on the back. He looked and waited to see if I'd join him. I nodded but before I did… Quickly, I leaned over and kissed Bunnymund on his cheek. His ears shot straight up before returning to normal. A stunned expression turned into a smile. He winked at me as if promising more to come. I winked back before joining my brother at the back of the sleigh.

I have to say this was one hell of an adventure. But I also realized it was far from over. I was apparently stuck in this world seeing as it was the end of the movie and I'm still here. Not to mention I died in my world so it's not like I had much to go back to. I'm still not sure how that happened. Manny explained a few things but he didn't exactly go into detail. I hope Mema will be alright without me. While I told everyone here my real name, I haven't admitted about seeing all of this as a movie yet. I'll have to wait for just the right time to tell them. I didn't want to ruin this moment. When I do, I hope they'll be able to forgive me.

Pitch might be down but I doubt he's out for good. After all, 'The Boogeyman never dies,' and all that. Joy. If he shows his face again we'll be there. I'm not sure what me and Jack will do now. Probably what we've always done. Only this time we have a few friends along for the ride.

Speaking of friends… I wonder what it'll be like to kiss the Easter Bunny? He clearly likes me, and I him. Guess we'll have to go with the flow and see where it takes us. Then again, I could say that about what the future holds too. I glanced over to see Jack and he had a contemplative expression on his face. Of course, I knew what he was thinking. I was having the same thoughts. With my own twist.

_The name's Jackie Frost. Alright, it's actually Faith Jackelyn Frost but let's not dwell on the small details. Anyway, I'm a Guardian. How do I know? Because the moon told me so. So when the moon tells you something, believe it._

Me and my brother smiled at one another and I held his hand. With his free one he blew a snowflake into the air. I released a blue butterfly out of my bag and the two appeared to dance around each other in the air.

Turns out a little faith can go a long way.


	15. Sequel and Prequel?

**Sequel and prequel?**

**Numerous people have come to me asking if I was going to do a sequel. The answer is yes I am. Mind you I will not be going off of a book or movie this time and will have to create everything from my own mind. While I am confident I can do it successfully you all know I can take forever getting a chapter out. Look at this story for the love of Pete! And it was only of the bloody movie! So I beg you to be patient with me because I hate rushing chapters and ruining good plot bunnies.**

**I stated in one of my author notes that I was planning on doing a sort of prequel to the story where I tell what happened to Jack and Jackie during those missing four months. This includes the reference to them attempting to break into North's workshop… So is anyone interested or would it get like no reviews at all? That would be a little disheartening.**

**Let me know what you think peeps 'cause your input really does help me. 'Till next time!**


	16. Prequel's Up!

**I forgot to post this up the other day. Opps. I've officially started on the prequel to this story. It's called Fun. My reasons are stated in the story. Go ahead and read it if you're interested. Also, I can't say how often I'll be able to update it because I already have a good amount of stories to look after. I can't neglect them. I think I'm in a bit over my head. Oh well. Hope you like it.**


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